Solar Thermal Power Coming to a Boil
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Manu Sharma
Jul 23, 2008, 5:11:03 AM7/23/08
to Green-India Google Group
Excellent overview of developments worldwide in solar thermal from Lester Brown's Earth Policy Institute.
_____________________
> Earth Policy Institute
> Plan B Update
> For Immediate Release
> July 22, 2008
>
> SOLAR THERMAL POWER COMING TO A BOIL
>
> http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2008/Update73.htm
>
> Jonathan G. Dorn
>
> After emerging in 2006 from 15 years of hibernation, the solar thermal power industry experienced a surge in 2007, with 100 megawatts of new capacity coming online worldwide. During the 1990s, cheap fossil fuels, combined with a loss of state and federal incentives, put a damper on solar thermal power development. However, recent increases in energy prices, escalating concerns about global climate change, and fresh economic incentives are renewing interest in this technology.
>
> Considering that the energy in sunlight reaching the earth in just 70 minutes is equivalent to annual global energy consumption, the potential for solar power is virtually unlimited. With concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) capacity expected to double every 16 months over the next five years, worldwide installed CSP capacity will reach 6,400 megawatts in 2012--14 times the current capacity. (See data at http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2008/Update73_data.htm#table1.)
>
> Unlike solar photovoltaics (PVs), which use semiconductors to convert sunlight directly into electricity, CSP plants generate electricity using heat. Much like a magnifying glass, reflectors focus sunlight onto a fluid-filled vessel. The heat absorbed by the fluid is used to generate steam that drives a turbine to produce electricity. Power generation after sunset is possible by storing excess heat in large, insulated tanks filled with molten salt. Since CSP plants require high levels of direct solar radiation to operate efficiently, deserts make ideal locations.
>
> Two big advantages of CSP over conventional power plants are that the electricity generation is clean and carbon-free and, since the sun is the energy source, there are no fuel costs. Energy storage in the form of heat is also significantly cheaper than battery storage of electricity, providing CSP with an economical means to overcome intermittency and deliver dispatchable power.
>
> The United States and Spain are leading the world in the development of solar thermal power, with a combined total of over 5,600 megawatts of new capacity expected to come online by 2012. Representing over 90 percent of the projected new capacity by 2012, the output from these plants would be enough to meet the electrical needs of more than 1.7 million homes.
>
> The largest solar thermal power complex in operation today is the Solar Electricity Generating Station in the Mojave Desert in California. Coming online between 1985 and 1991, the 354-megawatt complex has been producing enough power for 100,000 homes for almost two decades. In June 2007, the 64-megawatt Nevada Solar One plant became the first multi-megawatt commercial CSP plant to come online in the United States in 16 years.
>
> Today, more than a dozen new CSP plants are being planned in the United States, with some 3,100 megawatts expected to come online by 2012. (See data at http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2008/Update73.htm#table6.) Some impressive CSP projects in the planning stages include the 553-megawatt Mojave Solar Park in California, the 500-megawatt Solar One and 300-megawatt Solar Two projects in California, a 300-megawatt facility in Florida, and the 280-megawatt Solana plant in Arizona.
>
> In Spain, the first commercial-scale CSP plant to begin operation outside the United States since the mid-1980s came online in 2007: the 11-megawatt PS10 tower. The tower is part of the 300-megawatt Solúcar Platform, which, when completed in 2013, will contain ten CSP plants and produce enough electricity to supply 153,000 homes while preventing 185,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually. All told, more than 60 plants are in the pipeline in Spain, with 2,570 megawatts expected to come online by 2012.
>
> Economic and policy incentives are partly responsible for the renewed interest in CSP. The incentives in the United States include a 30-percent federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for solar through the end of 2008, which has good prospects for being extended, and Renewable Portfolio Standards in 26 states. California requires that utilities get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2010, and Nevada requires 20 percent by 2015, with at least 5 percent from solar power. The primary incentive in Spain is a feed-in tariff that guarantees that utilities will pay power producers ?0.26 (40¢) per kilowatt-hour for electricity generated by CSP plants for 25 years.
>
> In the southwestern United States, the cost of electricity from CSP plants (including the federal ITC) is roughly 13-17¢ per kilowatt-hour, meaning that CSP with thermal storage is competitive today with simple-cycle natural gas-fired power plants. The U.S. Department of Energy aims to reduce CSP costs to 7-10¢ per kilowatt-hour by 2015 and to 5-7¢ per kilowatt-hour by 2020, making CSP competitive with fossil-fuel-based power sources.
>
> Outside the United States and Spain, regulatory incentives in France, Greece, Italy, and Portugal are expected to stimulate the installation of 3,200 megawatts of CSP capacity by 2020. China anticipates building 1,000 megawatts by that time. Other countries developing CSP include Australia, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. (See map at http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2008/Update73_data.htm#fig7.)
>
> Using CSP plants to power electric vehicles could further reduce CO2 emissions and provide strategic advantages by relaxing dependence on oil. In Israel, a tender issued by the Ministry for National Infrastructures for the construction of CSP plants and a 19.4¢ per kilowatt-hour feed-in tariff for solar power systems are sparking interest in developing up to 250 megawatts of CSP in the Negev Desert. This would produce enough electricity to run the 100,000 electric cars that Project Better Place, a company focused on building an electric personal transportation system, is planning to put on Israeli roads by the end of 2010.
>
> A study by Ausra, a solar energy company based in California, indicates that over 90 percent of fossil fuel-generated electricity in the United States and the majority of U.S. oil usage for transportation could be eliminated using solar thermal power plants--and for less than it would cost to continue importing oil. The land requirement for the CSP plants would be roughly 15,000 square miles (38,850 square kilometers, the equivalent of 15 percent of the land area of Nevada). While this may sound like a large tract, CSP plants use less land per equivalent electrical output than large hydroelectric dams when flooded land is included, or than coal plants when factoring in land used for coal mining. Another study, published in Scientific American in January 2008, proposes using CSP and PV plants to produce 69 percent of U.S. electricity and 35 percent of total U.S. energy, including transportation, by 2050.
>
> CSP plants on less than 0.3 percent of the desert areas of North Africa and the Middle East could generate enough electricity to meet the needs of these two regions plus the European Union. Realizing this, the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation--an initiative of The Club of Rome, the Hamburg Climate Protection Foundation, and the National Energy Research Center of Jordan--conceived the DESERTEC Concept in 2003. This plan to develop a renewable energy network to transmit power to Europe from the Middle East and North Africa calls for 100,000 megawatts of CSP to be built throughout the Middle East and North Africa by 2050. Electricity delivery to Europe would occur via direct current transmission cables across the Mediterranean. Taking the lead in making the concept a reality, Algeria plans to build a 3,000-kilometer cable between the Algerian town of Adrar and the German city of Aachen to export 6,000 megawatts of solar thermal power by 2020.
>
> If the projected annual growth rate of CSP through 2012 is maintained to 2020, global installed CSP capacity would exceed 200,000 megawatts--equivalent to 135 coal-fired power plants. With billions of dollars beginning to flow into the CSP industry and U.S. restrictions on carbon emissions imminent, CSP is primed to reach such capacity.
>
> # # #
>
> For more information on Earth Policy Institute's goal of 200,000 MW of CSP worldwide, part of a plan to cut carbon emissions 80 percent by 2020, see Chapters 11-13 in Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, available at www.earthpolicy.org for free downloading.
>
> For information contact:
>
> Media Contact:
> Reah Janise Kauffman
> Tel: (202) 496-9290 x 12
> E-mail: rjk (at) earthpolicy.org
>
> Research Contact:
> Janet Larsen
> Tel: (202) 496-9290 x 14
> E-mail: jlarsen (at) earthpolicy.org
>
> Earth Policy Institute
> 1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 403
> Washington, DC 20036
> Web: www.earthpolicy.org
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to public as: ma...@csmworld.org
> Plan B Update
> For Immediate Release
> July 22, 2008
>
> SOLAR THERMAL POWER COMING TO A BOIL
>
> http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2008/Update73.htm
>
> Jonathan G. Dorn
>
> After emerging in 2006 from 15 years of hibernation, the solar thermal power industry experienced a surge in 2007, with 100 megawatts of new capacity coming online worldwide. During the 1990s, cheap fossil fuels, combined with a loss of state and federal incentives, put a damper on solar thermal power development. However, recent increases in energy prices, escalating concerns about global climate change, and fresh economic incentives are renewing interest in this technology.
>
> Considering that the energy in sunlight reaching the earth in just 70 minutes is equivalent to annual global energy consumption, the potential for solar power is virtually unlimited. With concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) capacity expected to double every 16 months over the next five years, worldwide installed CSP capacity will reach 6,400 megawatts in 2012--14 times the current capacity. (See data at http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2008/Update73_data.htm#table1.)
>
> Unlike solar photovoltaics (PVs), which use semiconductors to convert sunlight directly into electricity, CSP plants generate electricity using heat. Much like a magnifying glass, reflectors focus sunlight onto a fluid-filled vessel. The heat absorbed by the fluid is used to generate steam that drives a turbine to produce electricity. Power generation after sunset is possible by storing excess heat in large, insulated tanks filled with molten salt. Since CSP plants require high levels of direct solar radiation to operate efficiently, deserts make ideal locations.
>
> Two big advantages of CSP over conventional power plants are that the electricity generation is clean and carbon-free and, since the sun is the energy source, there are no fuel costs. Energy storage in the form of heat is also significantly cheaper than battery storage of electricity, providing CSP with an economical means to overcome intermittency and deliver dispatchable power.
>
> The United States and Spain are leading the world in the development of solar thermal power, with a combined total of over 5,600 megawatts of new capacity expected to come online by 2012. Representing over 90 percent of the projected new capacity by 2012, the output from these plants would be enough to meet the electrical needs of more than 1.7 million homes.
>
> The largest solar thermal power complex in operation today is the Solar Electricity Generating Station in the Mojave Desert in California. Coming online between 1985 and 1991, the 354-megawatt complex has been producing enough power for 100,000 homes for almost two decades. In June 2007, the 64-megawatt Nevada Solar One plant became the first multi-megawatt commercial CSP plant to come online in the United States in 16 years.
>
> Today, more than a dozen new CSP plants are being planned in the United States, with some 3,100 megawatts expected to come online by 2012. (See data at http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2008/Update73.htm#table6.) Some impressive CSP projects in the planning stages include the 553-megawatt Mojave Solar Park in California, the 500-megawatt Solar One and 300-megawatt Solar Two projects in California, a 300-megawatt facility in Florida, and the 280-megawatt Solana plant in Arizona.
>
> In Spain, the first commercial-scale CSP plant to begin operation outside the United States since the mid-1980s came online in 2007: the 11-megawatt PS10 tower. The tower is part of the 300-megawatt Solúcar Platform, which, when completed in 2013, will contain ten CSP plants and produce enough electricity to supply 153,000 homes while preventing 185,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually. All told, more than 60 plants are in the pipeline in Spain, with 2,570 megawatts expected to come online by 2012.
>
> Economic and policy incentives are partly responsible for the renewed interest in CSP. The incentives in the United States include a 30-percent federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for solar through the end of 2008, which has good prospects for being extended, and Renewable Portfolio Standards in 26 states. California requires that utilities get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2010, and Nevada requires 20 percent by 2015, with at least 5 percent from solar power. The primary incentive in Spain is a feed-in tariff that guarantees that utilities will pay power producers ?0.26 (40¢) per kilowatt-hour for electricity generated by CSP plants for 25 years.
>
> In the southwestern United States, the cost of electricity from CSP plants (including the federal ITC) is roughly 13-17¢ per kilowatt-hour, meaning that CSP with thermal storage is competitive today with simple-cycle natural gas-fired power plants. The U.S. Department of Energy aims to reduce CSP costs to 7-10¢ per kilowatt-hour by 2015 and to 5-7¢ per kilowatt-hour by 2020, making CSP competitive with fossil-fuel-based power sources.
>
> Outside the United States and Spain, regulatory incentives in France, Greece, Italy, and Portugal are expected to stimulate the installation of 3,200 megawatts of CSP capacity by 2020. China anticipates building 1,000 megawatts by that time. Other countries developing CSP include Australia, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. (See map at http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2008/Update73_data.htm#fig7.)
>
> Using CSP plants to power electric vehicles could further reduce CO2 emissions and provide strategic advantages by relaxing dependence on oil. In Israel, a tender issued by the Ministry for National Infrastructures for the construction of CSP plants and a 19.4¢ per kilowatt-hour feed-in tariff for solar power systems are sparking interest in developing up to 250 megawatts of CSP in the Negev Desert. This would produce enough electricity to run the 100,000 electric cars that Project Better Place, a company focused on building an electric personal transportation system, is planning to put on Israeli roads by the end of 2010.
>
> A study by Ausra, a solar energy company based in California, indicates that over 90 percent of fossil fuel-generated electricity in the United States and the majority of U.S. oil usage for transportation could be eliminated using solar thermal power plants--and for less than it would cost to continue importing oil. The land requirement for the CSP plants would be roughly 15,000 square miles (38,850 square kilometers, the equivalent of 15 percent of the land area of Nevada). While this may sound like a large tract, CSP plants use less land per equivalent electrical output than large hydroelectric dams when flooded land is included, or than coal plants when factoring in land used for coal mining. Another study, published in Scientific American in January 2008, proposes using CSP and PV plants to produce 69 percent of U.S. electricity and 35 percent of total U.S. energy, including transportation, by 2050.
>
> CSP plants on less than 0.3 percent of the desert areas of North Africa and the Middle East could generate enough electricity to meet the needs of these two regions plus the European Union. Realizing this, the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation--an initiative of The Club of Rome, the Hamburg Climate Protection Foundation, and the National Energy Research Center of Jordan--conceived the DESERTEC Concept in 2003. This plan to develop a renewable energy network to transmit power to Europe from the Middle East and North Africa calls for 100,000 megawatts of CSP to be built throughout the Middle East and North Africa by 2050. Electricity delivery to Europe would occur via direct current transmission cables across the Mediterranean. Taking the lead in making the concept a reality, Algeria plans to build a 3,000-kilometer cable between the Algerian town of Adrar and the German city of Aachen to export 6,000 megawatts of solar thermal power by 2020.
>
> If the projected annual growth rate of CSP through 2012 is maintained to 2020, global installed CSP capacity would exceed 200,000 megawatts--equivalent to 135 coal-fired power plants. With billions of dollars beginning to flow into the CSP industry and U.S. restrictions on carbon emissions imminent, CSP is primed to reach such capacity.
>
> # # #
>
> For more information on Earth Policy Institute's goal of 200,000 MW of CSP worldwide, part of a plan to cut carbon emissions 80 percent by 2020, see Chapters 11-13 in Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, available at www.earthpolicy.org for free downloading.
>
> For information contact:
>
> Media Contact:
> Reah Janise Kauffman
> Tel: (202) 496-9290 x 12
> E-mail: rjk (at) earthpolicy.org
>
> Research Contact:
> Janet Larsen
> Tel: (202) 496-9290 x 14
> E-mail: jlarsen (at) earthpolicy.org
>
> Earth Policy Institute
> 1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 403
> Washington, DC 20036
> Web: www.earthpolicy.org
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to public as: ma...@csmworld.org
Nitin Phansalkar
Jul 23, 2008, 7:32:11 AM7/23/08
to green...@googlegroups.com
Thanks Manu for publishing this report to the group. There's a mention of DESERTEC concept in the report. Incidentally, DESERTEC-India, is popularizing this concept (Clean and Green Power from Deserts) in India (www.desertec-india.org.in). Efforts to start pilots using various techniques (some innovative) are going on..
Regards,
Nitin
Nitin Phansalkar
Coordinator - DESERTEC-India
----- Original Message ----
From: Manu Sharma <orang...@gmail.com>
To: Green-India Google Group <green...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, 23 July, 2008 2:41:03 PM
Subject: [Green-India] Solar Thermal Power Coming to a Boil
From: Manu Sharma <orang...@gmail.com>
To: Green-India Google Group <green...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, 23 July, 2008 2:41:03 PM
Subject: [Green-India] Solar Thermal Power Coming to a Boil
Excellent overview of developments worldwide in solar thermal from Lester Brown's Earth Policy Institute.
_____________________
> Earth Policy Institute
> Plan B Update
> For Immediate Release
> July 22, 2008
>
> SOLAR THERMAL POWER COMING TO A BOIL
>
> http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2008/Update73.htm
>
> Jonathan G. Dorn
>
> After emerging in 2006 from 15 years of hibernation, the solar thermal power industry experienced a surge in 2007, with 100 megawatts of new capacity coming online worldwide. During the 1990s, cheap fossil fuels, combined with a loss of state and federal incentives, put a damper on solar thermal power development. However, recent increases in energy prices, escalating concerns about global climate change, and fresh economic incentives are renewing interest in this technology.
>
> Considering that the energy in sunlight reaching the earth in just 70 minutes is equivalent to annual global energy consumption, the potential for solar power is virtually unlimited. With concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) capacity expected to double every 16 months over the next five years, worldwide installed CSP capacity will reach 6,400 megawatts in 2012--14 times the current capacity. (See data at http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2008/Update73_data.htm#table1
> Plan B Update
> For Immediate Release
> July 22, 2008
>
> SOLAR THERMAL POWER COMING TO A BOIL
>
> http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2008/Update73.htm
>
> Jonathan G. Dorn
>
> After emerging in 2006 from 15 years of hibernation, the solar thermal power industry experienced a surge in 2007, with 100 megawatts of new capacity coming online worldwide. During the 1990s, cheap fossil fuels, combined with a loss of state and federal incentives, put a damper on solar thermal power development. However, recent increases in energy prices, escalating concerns about global climate change, and fresh economic incentives are renewing interest in this technology.
>
> Considering that the energy in sunlight reaching the earth in just 70 minutes is equivalent to annual global energy consumption, the potential for solar power is virtually unlimited. With concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) capacity expected to double every 16 months over the next five years, worldwide installed CSP capacity will reach 6,400 megawatts in 2012--14 times the current capacity. (See data at http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2008/Update73_data.htm#table1
.)
>
> Unlike solar photovoltaics (PVs), which use semiconductors to convert sunlight directly into electricity, CSP plants generate electricity using heat. Much like a magnifying glass, reflectors focus sunlight onto a fluid-filled vessel. The heat absorbed by the fluid is used to generate steam that drives a turbine to produce electricity. Power generation after sunset is possible by storing excess heat in large, insulated tanks filled with molten salt. Since CSP plants require high levels of direct solar radiation to operate efficiently, deserts make ideal locations.
>
> Two big advantages of CSP over conventional power plants are that the electricity generation is clean and carbon-free and, since the sun is the energy source, there are no fuel costs. Energy storage in the form of heat is also significantly cheaper than battery storage of electricity, providing CSP with an economical means to overcome intermittency and deliver dispatchable power.
>
> The United States and Spain are leading the world in the development of solar thermal power, with a combined total of over 5,600 megawatts of new capacity expected to come online by 2012. Representing over 90 percent of the projected new capacity by 2012, the output from these plants would be enough to meet the electrical needs of more than 1.7 million homes.
>
> The largest solar thermal power complex in operation today is the Solar Electricity Generating Station in the Mojave Desert in California. Coming online between 1985 and 1991, the 354-megawatt complex has been producing enough power for 100,000 homes for almost two decades.. In June 2007, the 64-megawatt Nevada Solar One plant became the first multi-megawatt commercial CSP plant to come online in the United States in 16 years.
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2008/Update73.htm#table6.) Some impressive CSP projects in the
planning stages include the 553-megawatt Mojave Solar Park in California, the 500-megawatt Solar One and 300-megawatt Solar Two projects in California, a 300-megawatt facility in Florida, and the 280-megawatt Solana plant in Arizona.
www.earthpolicy.org for free downloading.
Jerry Scovel
Jul 23, 2008, 8:15:07 AM7/23/08
to green...@googlegroups.com
Not only do CSP plants produce electricity but they also remove some of the heat that would otherwise contribute to global warming.
Wolverine
Jul 23, 2008, 9:13:08 AM7/23/08
to India's Energy Future and Sustainable Living
All
Interesting information.
Thanks Manu for sharing it with us.
Was curious to know if we had the energy conversion efficiency numbers
for these CSP systems?
I was also trying to compare the area of land required for a similar
capacity PV plant and found it to be smaller than the CSP area
requirements.
Thanks
Ajinkya
Manu Sharma
Jul 23, 2008, 9:56:09 AM7/23/08
to green...@googlegroups.com
Ajinkya,
A solar thermal power plant involves several efficiencies but the net solar-to-electricity efficiency is in the range of 14%. Land requirements from a new design in solar thermal developed by Ausra, one of the companies mentioned in the write up, is considerably less compared to traditional solar thermal.
Thanks,
Manu
A solar thermal power plant involves several efficiencies but the net solar-to-electricity efficiency is in the range of 14%. Land requirements from a new design in solar thermal developed by Ausra, one of the companies mentioned in the write up, is considerably less compared to traditional solar thermal.
Thanks,
Manu
Wolverine
Jul 23, 2008, 10:08:52 AM7/23/08
to India's Energy Future and Sustainable Living
Manu
Since the CSP systems conversion as follows
solar=>water/steam( thermal) =>turbine ( mechanical) => electrical
As against that PV systems does not have so many conversions.
I was referring to them and trying to see the difference in the net
efficiency.It is great if both have similar numbers.
Thanks
Ajinkya
Since the CSP systems conversion as follows
solar=>water/steam( thermal) =>turbine ( mechanical) => electrical
As against that PV systems does not have so many conversions.
I was referring to them and trying to see the difference in the net
efficiency.It is great if both have similar numbers.
Thanks
Ajinkya
Manu Sharma
Jul 23, 2008, 10:23:07 AM7/23/08
to green...@googlegroups.com
On Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 7:38 PM, Wolverine <joshi....@gmail.com> wrote:
Since the CSP systems conversion as follows
solar=>water/steam( thermal) =>turbine ( mechanical) => electrical
Ajinkya,
It doesn't work simply like that. In the collector part itself there's optical efficiency, receiver absorbptivity, mirror reflectivity and receiver emittance. Then there's hear transfer efficiencies involved. BTW, the thermal fluid is rarely water, it's usually some kind of oil which is run through a heat exchanger to heat water to produce steam.
Then the efficiency of the steam engine which varies depending upon the temperature involved. Apart from this the thermal fuild needs to pumped long distances - miles and miles - in such plants so there are pumping losses to account for too.
As I said, there are several efficiencies involved in the process. It's not as simple as photovoltaic, though even there you have energy conversion losses.
Manu
It doesn't work simply like that. In the collector part itself there's optical efficiency, receiver absorbptivity, mirror reflectivity and receiver emittance. Then there's hear transfer efficiencies involved. BTW, the thermal fluid is rarely water, it's usually some kind of oil which is run through a heat exchanger to heat water to produce steam.
Then the efficiency of the steam engine which varies depending upon the temperature involved. Apart from this the thermal fuild needs to pumped long distances - miles and miles - in such plants so there are pumping losses to account for too.
As I said, there are several efficiencies involved in the process. It's not as simple as photovoltaic, though even there you have energy conversion losses.
Manu
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