Great Article about CPV

You don't usually get such great articles; so definetely it is worth checking it out. It was in the magazine but luckily our friends at Renewable Energy World have released a digital copy of the content so here it goes: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/reworld/story?id=51589

The leadership race is on!

All this week and also last week I have been receiving numerous (repeated) press releases about CSP. They fall in either of two cathegories: either Acciona claiming how great they are - dedicating the Nevada Solar I plant http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1267936/acciona_dedicates_nevada_solar_facility/
with celebrities present. And Abengoa claiming how they are set to build the biggest plant to date (in colaboration with APS) 280MW trough plant to be called Solana, in Arizona. http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/02/25/world%E2%80%99s-largest-solar-power-plant-coming-to-arizona-in-2011/

Both companies are massive and with great PR divisions, that is probably why the same press release has been picked up absolutely everywhere with different names etc; and they have made it to CNN and Times Online here and there. It seems that both are jostling for media leadership in the CSP area.

So many would argue that Abengoa started the race with PS10 - Although it is only 11MW, they have PS20 on the way. Then Acciona made the moves and opened Nevada Solar I in June last year. Now Abengoa has announce a 280MW solar project in Arizona... So it looks like everybody's thoughts are back with Acciona - so what will their next move be, we wonder. This is the fight for a clear leadership; and we cant wait to see what is next.

Of course, other players are not standing still, for example, BrightSource Energy are opening up a tower plant in Israel, is currently under construction and it will go online in June... And most importantly, and this is regarding my other area of interest, CPV is reaching for the stars so quick that both Abengoa and Acciona will have to be very aware of the newest solar players... I am taking about the rather less-out-there press release that CLP group put out there yesterday. This might have not reached your inbox but trust me it will get your interest! Otherwise understood it as, they made it to the front page of the financial times, which is a major achievent in itself.

I am referring, of course, to our Aussie friends of Solar Systems (I dont want to boast but they will be speaking at the CPV conference in Madrid :) Congratulations are in order as they have closed agreement to construct a 154MW project in northern Victoria, Australia, with the CLP group. This will be the biggest of the kind (Solar Systems' technology is dish sterling) and it is certainly a massive leap for CPV; and for solar as a whole... https://www.clpgroup.com/Pages/default.aspx

So now, there is a question remaining... With such fast leaps from the CPV side... how long will CSP maintain the leadership of utility scale solar generation? I cant wait to find out!!!

A few thoughts on CSP, CPV & investment

Climate Change is not an inconvenient truth as Al Gore proclaims, but a historic chance for Spain to lead the third industrial revolution, based in renewable energies. This is the twist that Jimenez Beltran expressed this week in Spain.

Jimenez Beltran might not ring a bell to you if you are not familiar with Spanish public figures. Having worked for the European Union in environmental issues, he does have it right, however, there is now an amazing opportunity for companies to get into the industrial revolution before it is too late.

You might or might not know it, but I am currently working on a financing and investment event for CSP and CPV, to take place in San Francisco in June (about the US market) and Madrid, in September (for the European market) Therefore why I keep on tripping on this clear signs that the market is still going to run upwards for quite a while.

For example, on Monday’s Times; in its business section has a double-page spread about the legendary British investment millionaire Jim Mellon. He made a huge fortune in Russia, fund management and other ventures. Asked about the future he believes so strongly in solar power - it will, he argues, be 'bigger than the internet within the next five years' and this has driven him to set up his own industrial company, Emerging Metals, which will be floated... within the next three months. The company specialises in metals used in the next generation of solar panels. "Solar is genuinely clean - it ticks all sorts of zeitgeist boxes. Within five years, solar power will be as cheap as oil and gas without the subsidy”

So there is certainly much interest in solar and CSP and CPV are receiving record interest from the financing world – For example today I have learned that Cool Earth Solar – a CPV company with an innovative approach to the way the solar fields look (just check the image for reference)- had a leaked news piece regarding the fact that they have attracted finance totalling $21 million. My contact was also surprised that the information was in the public domain when he had been told to keep it quiet for the next days…And let us not get into CSP - where every week at least i get two news articles about companies attractinb investment

With financing of CSP being in the daily news and CSP attracting so much attention from everywhere – it is harder than ever to know who will ultimately be right: those who preach that the solar industry will be doomed to follow the same bubble burst effect that the dot com industry felt and those you assure that solar is here to stay.

So, is solar a safe invest? Of course it is. As much as oil companies are trying to convince us otherwise, oil is running out. The prices of oil are going to become highly instable and unlike the oil embargo in the 70’s – this time they will not be able to put governments at peace long enough for them to abandon all the renewable energy development programmes.

We must learn the lessons quickly if we want to move on from oil without suffering a creeping recession – just take a look at Germany and how their policies have created a clean industry that is leader in the world. Their environmental consciousness has brought nothing but jobs, wealth and a strong revolutionary industry. We must follow this lead.

I, for one, will be proud to see Spain in the lead.

*3ethlehem*

The state of large-scale solar

Large-scale solar is about to rise on the energy scene with unprecedented impact. The revolution in small-scale solar is well-known, with installation of small solar systems in California, New Jersey, Germany, Japan and Spain setting records each year. But the time for five megawatt and over systems seems to have arrived.

I recently attended the first annual Concentrated Solar Power Summit in San Francisco. Attendance was double what was expected, with over 300 business, academic, non-profit and governmental representatives present. The summit began on a rocky note, with discussion focusing on the fact that the federal energy bill just passed in December did not include an extension of the 30 percent investment tax credit, considered crucial for new large-scale solar projects to be built. But the mood lightened up throughout the two days, with company after company presenting its technology and utility company, non-profit, and government voices expressing optimism for the various solar technologies presented.

Large-scale solar (which I define as any solar technology used in facilities of 5 MW or larger) is a better load-following resource than wind, today's more cost-effective renewable energy technology. Wind power is competitive today with fossil fuel power generation, but whereas wind power often peaks when demand is far from its peak (depending on the location of the wind turbines, with inland turbines being more likely to peak at night and coastal turbines more likely to peak in the afternoon), solar facilities peak in early to late-afternoon. This is much closer to the time of peak demand, which typically occurs in the late afternoon or early evening.

To sweeten the solar deal even further, some large-scale solar technologies can be “firmed up” with storage systems like molten salt thermal storage. This technology was developed at Solar Two, the “power tower” system built in the 1990s near Barstow, which achieved multi-day continuous operations with its molten salt thermal storage.

Solar Reserve, one of the most exciting new companies to present at the Summit, is the direct descendant of the experience with Solar Two. Solar Reserve is a joint venture with Rocketdyne and United Technologies, and has the engineer who ran the Solar Two project for a decade on its team. This company claims that it can achieve cost parity with natural gas power plants today – with the investment tax credit. It also claims that it is more cost-effective to include the more expensive energy storage systems with their facilities because these facilities can then sell power during peak pricing, while also becoming reliable peak power providers.

We must take all such claims with a grain of salt – until they are substantiated with “steel in the ground” – but the general buzz at the Summit was truly exciting. Most companies that discussed price focused on the target contract price of 15 cents per kilowatt hour, as the price at which companies could turn a decent profit and also ensure construction occurs. The price for electricity from new baseload natural gas plants is about 9 cents per kilowatt hour, and rises to 12 to 48 cents per kilowatt hour for peak power, depending on what report you read.

Many utilities have signed power purchase agreements with solar companies, including two massive contracts with the concentrating dish manufacturer, Sterling Power, which was notably absent from the Summit. Sterling has contracts of 850 and 900 MW, respectively, with Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric. More recently, and perhaps more realistically, Solel recently received signed a contract with PG&E for 553 MW of trough-based concentrating solar power (the most prevalent technology today, with facilities in California, Nevada and Spain). Also quite promising is the 177 MW project planned by Ausra for a site in San Luis Obispo County. Ausra has a contract with PG&E for this power and has also announced it plans to construct a manufacturing facility in Las Vegas, vertically integrating its operations.

CalRENEW-1, a 5 MW solar photovoltaics project, just received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to sell power to PG&E. This is the first solar PV project contracted for under the state's “renewable portfolio standard.” With the RPS system somewhat re-structured this year by SB 1036, the CPUC now has authority to approve contracts even if they come in over the “market price referent,” which is the proxy cost of power from new natural gas plants. The “word on the street” is that the cost of PV is coming down fast, such that it may now be able to compete favorably with concentrating solar power technologies and may even be competitive with new natural gas-fired electricity. If true, this will be truly revolutionary, though it is hard to envision 1,000 MW solar PV farms spread throughout the desert, considering the vast ramp-up in solar PV production that would be required for such projects.

However, there are literally 50,000 MW of large-scale solar projects proposed in Southern California, consisting of trough, dish and power tower concentrating solar power projects as well as some truly massive PV projects. The entire installed capacity for all of California is less than 70,000 MW, so the magnitude of new solar projects proposed is incredible.

Many of these projects may, however, turn out to be “vaporware” – more aspiration than reality. But even if ten percent or less of these projects is built, 5,000 MW of large solar facilities will more than achieve California's ambitious renewable energy goals, and will, very likely be a cost-saver for ratepayers in the long-term. This is the case because even if such facilities cost more up-front, costs can be locked in over the life of the contract because there are no fuel costs. Construction and amortization costs are known at the start of the contract, so if ratepayers are paying 15 cents per kilowatt hour for the life of the contract, such prices will very likely be less than what ratepayers will pay for electricity from new natural gas plants because the cost of natural gas has risen precipitously and is projected to continue to rise at a rapid rate.

So will we see this revolution go beyond the ranks of the attendees at the Summit in San Francisco? The general consensus was that the investment tax credit needs to be renewed – and not for just one year. The Senate stimulus package recently proposed includes a one year extension, so let's hope this is enough to continue progress on the many projects already proposed. Taxpayers and ratepayers will almost certainly benefit over the coming decades if Congress and our president are wise enough to see the light.

Tam Hunt, Energy Program Director and Attorney, Community Environmental Council

Tam Hunt, Energy Program Director and Attorney for the Community Environmental Council, Santa Barbara, California. More information on our energy program can be found at http://www.fossilfreeby33.org/.