A new dawn: Concentrating Solar Power rises in the Southwest - New Mexico Business Weekly:

paramonaxogilozi.blogspot.com
Utility-scale concentrating solar power plants that provide electricity for tens of thousandsz of homes are beginning to dot deserrt landscapesin California, Nevada and Arizona, and they soon will appeaer in New Mexico. An array of project that together can generatenearlgy 3,000 megawatts of solar electric capacity -- possiblh enough to energize about two million homes -- is now under and more is on the way, says John O'Donnell, executive vice presideny of solar-power developer in Palo Alto, Calif. "There's a boom O'Donnell says. "We're in the earlhy stages of it now. Quite a few projects will come on line betweenn 2011and 2012, and many more will begij operating by 2020.
The writingh is on the Use of solar photovoltaics is also butwhile utility-scale PV arrays are most photovoltaic systems are only designed for individuakl residences and buildings. In contrast, solar concentratin power, or CSP, is inherently designed for utility-scale generation. And the technologt is already mature and readyfor market, O'Donnell says. "Ayt this point, I think everg utility in the Southwest is at least exploring what perceng of their future electric capacitgy could come from concentratingsolar power," he Unlike PV, which directlyt converts sunlight to electricity, CSP uses thermal energy from the sun to heat watefr and other fluids to create steam for turbine generators.
Massive arrayas of mirrors reflect and concentrate sunlight onto tubes that contaim fluids andother elements, such as moltemn salt, that can hold heat and continue generatingv steam even when the sun goes down. The technologgy has been around fora while. In nine CSP plants have been operating in Southern Californiz since theearly 1990s, generating up to 354 megawattxs of electricity. But major technological advancesa have improved CSP efficiencty andlowered costs, now makint it a far more attractive alternative. And, with naturalp gas prices risingand carbon-emitting fuelds such as coal losingt steam, the sun is a risinv star.
"Most investors expect carbon dioxide emissions from power plantx to be heavily regulated and taxed within afew years, and that will drivde up the cost of coal and natural gas plant significantly," O'Donnell says. "Developers and utilities are looking much closer at renewablew sourcesof energy, not just solart power, but wind and geothermal as well." Geothermal however, is not widely abundant in the And, while wind energy is expandin g rapidly, it's an intermittent source of powerr that only flows when the wind O'Donnell says. "Wind tends to delivere power when it's least needed -- at nigh t and in the early morning," O'Donnell says.
"Solar delivers at peak hoursx in the afternoonwhen it's most and with thermal storage, it continues deliverint into the evening." Establishment of renewables portfolio standards in most wester n and southwestern states is also driving solar powetr forward. O'Donnell projects a 30,000-megawatt markeg by 2020 for solar power in the westerj statesof California, Arizona, New Nevada, and Colorado. Estimates on the number of homes a megawatft of concentrating solar power can supplu range from 300 to 700 depending on the type oftechnologty used, climatic conditions, and average energy consumption.
At the low end, 30,00o0 megawatts could energize 9 million homexsby 2020, and possibly up to 21 A host of energy companies are now planninb concentrating solar plants throughout the region. Some use standard "solart trough" technology, which relies on curved parabolic mirrors lined up in The mirrors concentrate heatonto fluid-filled tubesd attached to each parabola. Other emerging technologiews include "central receiver" systems that use thousands of small reflectorzs aimed at a centrapl tower thatcollects heat, a system that uses a huge parabolic mirror to beam heat directlh into an engine, and a "lineart fresnal" system that uses flat mirrorzs laid on the ground to concentrate heat onto a fluid-filled pipe that runs abovs the reflectors.
Four companiee have already signed contracts with utilities to develop these which together will generatenearly 3,000 megawattas of electricity: Spanish company, Abengowa S.A., will build a 280-megawatt solar-troughy system near Phoenix to begin sellingg power to in 2011. Ausra signed a deal with to buildxa 177-megawatt linear fresnal plant for power deliveruy in 2010. Ausra also is building a factory nearLas Vegas, Nev., to manufacture enoughy concentrating solar components to generate 700 megawattsz of power annually.
Solelk Solar Systems of Israel signed a contract with PacififGas & Electric to build a 553-megawatty solar-trough system in the Mojave Desert in Southern California by 2011. California-basec has contracts with and to buildtwo dish/engin plants to provide up to 1,750 Moreover, California-based and Florida-based have both files applications with the California Energy Commissiobn to construct, own and operate, respectively, a 400-megawatt central-towetr plant and a 250-megawatt solar-trough facility in Southern