concentrating solar power

Concentrating Solar Power
www.ConcentratingSolarPower.com

Concentrating Solar Power
Development, Engineering, Procurement, Construction,
Feasibility Studies and Consulting Services

The Renewable Energy Institute is now affiliated with a Solar HCPV
technology and fast-growing, "below-the-radar" solar R&D company that has
made significant breakthroughs in solar power efficiency and costs.

Our HCPV solar power plant is the ideal solution for:
Electric Utilities, Commercial/Industrial Customers,
and Real Estate Developments/Subdivisions

And, this HCPV technology costs about 50% less than our competitors.

Minimum Size Available: 1 MW
10 year warranty
$3.75 million for equipment
Area required: 3 acres
6-9 months lead time

Sites in California, Nevada, New Mexico now available

Utility Scale Solar Power: Highest Efficiencies - Lowest Costs

See one of our following our sites for more information:

www.ConcentratingPhotovoltaic.com

www.ConcentrationPhotovoltaic.com

www.ConcentratedSolarPower.com

www.ConcentratingSolarPower.com

www.HighConcentrationPhotovoltaic.com

Call/email for more information

Tel. (832) 758 -10027

Email: info@ConcentratingSolarPower.com

Concentrating Solar Power Project Development, Engineering,
Procurement, Construction, Feasibility Studies and Consulting Services

Tel. (78327)7 758 - 00277 Email: info@ConcentratingSolarPower.com

and other consulting services for clients interested in "Utility-scale" Concentrating Solar Power plants.

Our work is performed on a strict adherence to "vendor-neutrality." We seek to maximize the return on investment from both the economic and environmental aspects while simultaneously minimizing the operational expenses for our clients.

Concentrating solar power plants produce electric power by converting the sun's energy into high-temperature heat using various mirror configurations. The heat is then channeled through a conventional generator. The plants consist of two parts: one that collects solar energy and converts it to heat, and another that converts heat energy to electricity.

Concentrating solar power systems can be sized for village power (10 kilowatts) or grid-connected applications (up to 100 megawatts). Some systems use thermal storage during cloudy periods or at night. Others can be combined with natural gas and the resulting hybrid power plants provide high-value, dispatchable power. These attributes, along with world record solar-to-electric conversion efficiencies, make concentrating solar power an attractive renewable energy option in the Southwest and other sunbelt regions worldwide.

Why Concentrating Solar Power is one of the Few "Superior"
Renewable Energy Technologies

For generating power after the sun sets, many owners/developer of concentrating solar power plants are now installing "Molten Salt Storage" systems that reserves enough energy to allow for electricity generation throughout the nighttime period.

Steam turbines and gas turbines powered by coal, uranium, oil and natural gas are the fuels used today for generating power and electric grid stability. These fuels provide both base-load and peak power. However, these same steam turbines can also be powered by the high temperature
heat from concentrating solar power plants.

Concentrating solar power plants in the 30 MW - 200 MW range are now operating successfully in locations from California to Europe. Nearly every day now, new concentrating solar power plants are being planned for construction. The concentrating solar collectors are very efficient and they also completely replace the fossil fuels that were used in traditional power plants. Today's concentrating solar power plants generate the heat needed to generate electricity at a cost equivalent to $50 - $60 per barrel of oil (equivalent). This cost is expected be slashed by 50% to below $25 - $30 per barrel in the next 10 years.

Just like conventional fossil-fueled power plants, concentrating solar power plants generate base-load and peaking power electricity.

A concentrating solar power plant with a molten salt storage facility for full load operation during the nighttime period is currently being built in the Spanish Sierra Nevada near Guadix. This concentrating solar power plant will generate 50 MW of power.

Another feature that distinguishes concentrating solar power plants is the opportunity for combined generation of heat and power - a technology that is called "Integrated Solar Combined Cycle" which achieves the highest possible efficiencies for energy conversion. In addition to power generation, such plants can provide steam for absorption chillers and/or adsorption chillers, industrial process heat or thermal ocean water desalination. A design study for such a plant was completed in 2006. This plant is scheduled to be commissioned in early 2009. This Integrated Solar Combined Cycle will provide 10 MW of power, 40 MW of district cooling and 10,000 cubic meters per day of desalted water for a large hotel in Jordan.

Net Zero Energy - when applied to a home or commercial building, simply means that they generate as much power and energy as they consume, when measured on a monthly or annual basis.

What is "Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide?"

Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CuInSe2) is a material that provides an extremely high absorption of light ( 99%) to be absorbed in the first micron of the material. Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide is projected to be the revolutionary material that some are saying, could put typical "central" power plants and some electric utilities, out of business, as it will be much cheaper for customers to generate their own onsite power with Thin Film Photovoltaics made from these materials.

When additional small amounts of Gallium is added to Copper Indium diSelenide, this increases its' light-absorbing band gap, thereby making the solar panel more closely match the solar spectrum of the sun. This, in turn, increases the voltage and the efficiency of the Thin Film Photovoltaics solar panel.

The conversion efficiency of Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide PV technologies is very stable over time, meaning its power output remains stable over many years, while the power output of many other PV materials can rapidly decline with time.

Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) are solar energy systems that are integrated into a part of the building, that serve as the building's exterior or the building's skin.

Commercial buildings and facilities (including houses) that integrate their own solar power systems into the building's exteriors, are referred to as "power buildings."

Without a doubt, the most exciting technology in the solar power industry is "Thin Film Photovoltaics." Thin Film Photovoltaics technology represents the next big thing in renewable energy and solar power as it integrates nanotechnologies into the production of solar photovoltaics.

According to the Department of Energy, the recent technological advances in thin film photovoltaics make this a very exciting time to be in the solar energy industry. These advances have led to many new developments in the components and manufacturing of thin film photovoltaics. This has made thin film photovoltaics cheaper to manufacture as they are also now easier to install since they are extremely versatile, flexible, bendable, and much lighter.

Thin film photovoltaics have led many to believe that as much as 50% of our nation's future power will be generated by "power buildings" that integrate "building integrated photovoltaics" or "BIPV" into the building's skin or exterior surfaces, that convert sunlight into "pollution free power" for use in the building. This also designates these buildings (and homes) as "Net Zero Energy Buildings" and make the option for going grid-free, or not connecting to the grid, a real possibility.

According to the Department of Energy, the market potential for printed electronics will grow into a $47 billion market by 2018. Thin film photovoltaics represents a significant portion of this market - and based on this heavily researched solar technology, thin film photovoltaics now represents a $20 billion/year industry in the U.S.

The solar PV panels produced under the thin film photovoltaics umbrella have the potential to produce power significantly cheaper power than today’s typical silicon-based PV panels. The panels are usually made in the form of a monolithic piece of glass, upon which various thin films are deposited, although a number of firms are working on depositing the materials on a substrate, such as stainless steel or plastic.

Amorphous Silicon had the largest share of the thin film photovoltaics market through 2006. It has been researched for the longest period of time, may be the best understood material of the three and has been commercial for the longest. Cadmium Telluride has the remaining share and is growing.

A Net Zero Energy Building produces as much energy as it uses over the course of a year. Net Zero Energy Buildings are very energy efficient. The remaining low energy needs are typically met with on-site renewable energy.

4. What are the utility company's prices for the excess power generated and sent to the grid?
(see: Net Energy Metering)

5. How difficult is it to interconnect the renewable energy system of the building with the utility company's powerlines/electric grid?

At the heart of Net Zero Energy Buildings is the idea that buildings can meet energy requirements from low-cost, locally available, nonpolluting, renewable sources.

Net energy metering is used to measure a customer's total electric consumption against that customer's total on-site electric generation. When a customer's onsite generation of power exceeds the amount that they use, the customer's solar energy system (or other renewable energy system) exports the extra electricity to the grid. When the power requirements of the customer exceeds their onsite generation of power, the customer imports the electricity they need from electric grid. The customer pays the electric company for any extra power they use over the amount they generate - OR - the customer receives a credit or refund from the electric company if they exported more power to the grid, than what they consumed.

Renewable Energy Is Necessary for Net Zero Energy Buildings

Much focus is placed on energy efficiency as the most cost-effective way to reduce energy use in commercial buildings. However, consumption can be reduced only so much. There is a point at which the cost of adding efficiency measures is higher than that of using renewable energy such as thin film photovoltaics and other solar energy systems.

Aggressive energy efficiency strategies can reduce a building's energy consumption by 50% to 70%. Renewable energy technologies must be used to reach the goal of a net-zero energy building (NZEB).

Supply-Side Technologies

Various supply-side renewable energy technologies are available for Net Zero Energy Buildings. Supply-side technologies, often called energy producers, collect natural energy and transform it into a useful form. Examples of these technologies include PV, solar hot water, wind, hydroelectric, and biofuels.

Ranking of Energy Options

All renewable sources are favorable over conventional energy sources such as coal and natural gas; however, the U.S. Department of Energy recommends the following ranking for these options (the lower numbers are preferable):

Option Number	NZEB Supply-Side Options	Examples
0	Reduce site energy use through low-energy building technologies	Daylighting, high-efficiency heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment (HVAC), natural ventilation, evaporative cooling
On-Site Supply Options
1	Use renewable energy sources available within the building's footprint	PV, solar hot water, and wind located on the building
2	Use renewable energy sources available at the site	PV, solar hot water, low-impact hydroelectric, and wind located on-site, but not on the building
Off-Site Supply Options
3	Use renewable energy sources available off site to generate energy on site	Biomass, wood pellets, ethanol, or biodiesel that can be imported from off site; waste streams from on-site processes that can be used on-site to generate electricity and heat
4	Purchase off-site renewable energy sources	Utility-based wind, PV, emissions credits, or other "green" purchasing options; hydroelectric is sometimes considered

This hierarchy is weighted toward renewable technologies within the building footprint and site. Rooftop PV and solar water heating are the most applicable supply-side technologies for Net Zero Energy Buildings. Other supply-side technologies such as parking lot-based wind or solar energy systems may be available.

Through an affiliated partner company, we are now installing *Free Solar Power Systems for qualified commercial businesses in California and Texas.

We expect ALL of our customers will be very happy knowing that the clean, green, renewable power they are using is:

To find out if your business qualifies for one of our Free Solar Power Systems, call (832) 758 - 0027 today!

Our "Solar Trigeneration™" Power and Energy Systems
Generate Carbon Free Energy and Pollution Free Power
Which is Sustainable, Clean, Renewable and Affordable

Our Solar Energy Systems are an environmentally-friendly and economically-superior choice to expensive natural gas and electricity. Additionally, our renewable energy technologies generate "green tags" or a Renewable Energy Credit.

We provide Solar Power and Energy systems that we refer to as "ecogeneration" solutions that produce cooler, cleaner, greener power and energy for our customers and our environment. Unlike most companies, we are equipment supplier/vendor neutral. This means we help our clients select the best equipment for their specific application. This approach provides our customers with superior performance, decreased operating expenses and increased return on investment.

The Audubon Nature Center Installs Solar Trigeneration System
Making this one of the World's First "Net Zero Energy Buildings"
at Their New Facility in Los Angeles, California

NO CONNECTION TO THE ELECTRIC UTILITY!

The Solar Trigeneration Provides All of their Facility's (5000 sq.ft.)
Cooling, Heating and Power Requirements, Even After the Sun Sets
And WITHOUT ANY CONNECTION to the Electric Utility
with out Solar Trigeneration System!

There is now a better, more efficient, “pollution free power” solution for cooling, heating and powering homes and commercial buildings where solar energy is available. It's called Solar Trigeneration

The Audubon Nature Center is totally powered by the sun’s energy and the building operates entirely “grid-free” and without any electric connections to the electric grid, or natural gas connections – a truly sustainable power and energy solution. Best of all, the Audubon Center doesn’t rely on the over-burdened electric grid or even natural gas. Therefore, the Audubon Nature Center NEVER receives an electric bill or natural gas bill.... ever!

The Audubon Nature Center's 5,000 square foot office and conference facility is powered by a Solar Trigeneration system that features a 25-kilowatt solar electric power system where the energy is stored in a bank of batteries. The Center is cooled by a 10-ton solar absorption cooling system powered by an array of very efficient solar heat pipe vacuum tube thermal collectors. The collectors heat the water to temperatures of 200+ degree F stored in a 1,200 gallon insulated tank, another type of inexpensive battery. The Solar Trigeneration system at the Audubon not only provides the air-conditioning in the summer but also heats the building in the winter, and provides the hot water for the kitchen and bathrooms.

Absorption chillers, and cooling with solar energy with an absorption chiller are not new technologies. In fact, absorption chiller technology is over 70 years old. The first refrigerators were powered by propane gas to run the absorption chillers that used ammonia as a refrigerant. Electricity and the electric compression chiller gained popularity only because of the convenient “plug and play” appliance and relatively cheap electric rates. Electricity is no longer economically, or environmentally “cheap.”

Cogeneration refers to the simultaneous production of heat and power. Cogeneration plants are much more efficient as compared with typical power plants. Cogeneration is usually about 55% to 70% efficient in terms of overall system efficiency, or about 200% more efficient than typical power plants. However, cogeneration power plants are fueled by natural gas, which is a limited resource, and whose price has exploded as a result of all the new cogeneration plants that have been built and fueled by natural gas. Even in early 2001, the price of natural gas was only $2.75 - $3.25 per mmbtu. However, with all of the new cogeneration power plants, limited supply of natural gas, and the huge demand placed on natural gas for fueling the new cogeneration plants, the price of natural gas is now around $7.50 - $8.50 per mmbtu.

Solar Trigeneration is an EcoGeneration solution. EcoGeneration refers to a power and energy system that uses the “natural” energy or fuel that is available for a specific site or location. Such energy or fuel includes, solar, wind, BioMethane, geothermal, and ocean power, including ocean tidal and ocean thermal energy conversion. For example, in the desert areas of the Southwestern U.S. , there is an abundance of solar energy. Therefore, home-owners and business owners in this part of the country should seriously consider an EcoGeneration system (“ecogen system”) that optimizes the opportunities available through solar energy

Today, the cause of the summer peak electric demand, electric supply problems, and black-outs, are the result of the energy crisis in California , primarily attributed to the air conditioning load. Over 40 percent of the electricity generated every day goes is used for air conditioning. At this time of year, the electric utilities are forced to turn on all of their power plants to generate the “peak” demands required by the customers, primarily for air-conditioning. This means that all of the efficient power plants, the inefficient power plants, along with all of the “peaking” power plants have to run to generate the electricity needed. The high cost of meeting the peak demand is passed on to the consumers with rates of $.20+ per kWh during the summer months. For fixed income seniors living in desert communities, they are already forced to conserve on energy, food, water, and other necessities of life.

Greater Demands on California’s Limited Electric Supply, Lack of New Electric Power Supplies, and This Summer’s Heat Wave are Compounding the Problem Leading to the “Perfect Electric Storm”

Many people will remember the movie “The Perfect Storm” from several years ago, when several storms came together in the northeastern part of the

U.S.

to produce a deadly and catastrophic “perfect” storm. Today, a different type of “perfect storm” is brewing in California . The storm that’s looming on the horizon in California is a “perfect electric storm” wherein the supply of electricity from the electric utility company’s power plants are unable to keep-up with the demand – meaning a black-out, or loss of electricity, like the black-outs from previous years, and like the northeastern black-out from 2003.

The most likely time of year for a black-out in California , unfortunately, is the summer, when air-conditioners are running at the maximum, and placing the maximum load on California ’s electricity supply. Should such a black-out occur in the desert areas of California, where daily high temperatures routinely reach 110 degrees and higher, and where a significant percentage of the population is comprised of retired and senior citizens, and should the black-out be prolonged, a number of deaths will be the likely outcome. People, and especially the elderly, simply cannot tolerate prolonged high temperatures

How Do We Prevent the “Perfect Electric Storm” from Occurring in California and Other Regions in the U.S.?

Another major concern is how do we prevent the “Perfect Electric Storm” from happening, like the Northeast Blackout several summers ago, especially for people living in the desert? California ’s energy authorities are warning of a possible energy crisis during the hot summer months, due to the excessive and prolonged summer temperatures where demand increases by over 40 percent. Compounding the problem is the rising demand for electricity due to population growth and the limited transmission capacity in some areas in the region. According to the California Energy Commission, the State must build three natural gas-fired 500-megawatt peaking power plants, every year, just to keep up with the growing demands of electricity. Failure to keep up with demand means The problem is getting worse due to the population growth in the Inland Empire , Coachella Valley and Antelope Valley. The projected power gap for the coming summers of 2006, 2007, and 2008 is very bleak.

Governor Schwarzenegger’s “Million Solar Roofs” program and the passage of the 2005 Federal Energy Act will be the foundation to create a “Perfect Solar Storm” to trigger the Solar Economy throughout California.

With the threat of California’s seniors and elderly dying from heat exhaustion due to power outages, black-outs, rolling black-outs and the rising costs of electricity and natural gas, combined with the continuing impact of global warming, the perfect solution is to create a Solar Revolution by cooling, heating and powering the desert with solar energy and technologies like Solar Cogeneration or Solar Trigeneration.

To find our more about the new Solar Trigeneration system at the Audubon Center in Los Angeles, or arrange for a tour of the Audubon Center, or discuss your Solar CHP, Solar Cogeneration or EcoGeneration requirements, call Monty Goodell at 832-758-0027

The hot water from the Solar Thermal Collectors on the roof of the Audubon is pumped here for producing the building's heating, cooling and domestic hot water.
Hot water is stored in the tank on the left for overnight.

Technology Overview

Concentrating solar power plants produce electric power by converting the sun's energy into high-temperature heat using various mirror configurations. The heat is then channeled through a conventional generator. The plants consist of two parts: one that collects solar energy and converts it to heat, and another that converts heat energy to electricity.

The Solar Resource

The solar resource for generating power from concentrating solar power systems is plentiful. For instance, enough electric power for the entire country could be generated by covering about 9 percent of Nevada—a plot of land 100 miles on a side—with parabolic trough systems.

The solar resources for generating power from concentrating solar power systems is plentiful. For instance, enough electric power for the entire country could be generated by covering about 9 percent of Nevada – a plot of land 100 miles on a side – with parabolic trough systems.

The amount of power generated by a concentrating solar power plant depends on the amount of direct sunlight. Like concentrating photovoltaic concentrators, these technologies use only direct-beam sunlight, rather than diffuse solar radiation.

The southwestern United States potentially offers the best development opportunity for concentrating solar power technologies in the world. There is a strong correlation between electric power demand and the solar resource due largely to air conditioning loads in the region. In fact, the Solar Electric Generating System plants operate for nearly 100% of the on-peak hours of Southern California Edison.

How Does It Work?

There are three kinds of concentrating solar power systems—troughs, dish/engines, and power towers—that are classified by how they collect solar energy.

Parabolic Trough systems:

The sun's energy is concentrated by parabolic (curved) trough-shaped reflectors onto a receiver pipe running along the inside of the curved surface. This energy heats an oil that flows through the pipe. The heat energy is then pumped to a location where the heat energy is converted to steam and the stem then generates electricity through one or more steam turbines.

A collector field comprises many troughs in parallel rows aligned on a north-south axis. This configuration enables the single-axis troughs to track the sun from east to west during the day to ensure that the sun is continuously focused on the receiver pipes. Individual trough systems currently can generate about 80 megawatts of electricity.

Trough designs can incorporate thermal storage - setting aside the heat transfer fluid in its hot phase - allowing for electricity generation several hours into the evening. Currently, all parabolic trough plants are "hybrids," meaning they use fossil fuel to supplement the solar output during periods of low solar radiation. Typically a natural gas-fired heat or a gas steam boiler/reheater is used; troughs also can be integrated with existing coal-fired plants.

Solar Power Tower systems:

What is a Solar Power Tower and How Does it Work?

A power tower converts sunshine into clean electricity for the world’s electricity grids. The technology utilizes many large, sun-tracking mirrors (heliostats) to focus sunlight on a receiver at the top of a tower. A heat transfer fluid heated in the receiver is used to generate steam, which, in turn, is used in a conventional turbine-generator to produce electricity. Early power towers (such as the Solar One plant) utilized steam as the heat transfer fluid; current designs (including Solar Two, pictured) utilize molten nitrate salt because of its superior heat transfer and energy storage capabilities. Individual commercial plants will be sized to produce anywhere from 50 to 200 MW of electricity.

Solar power towers offer large-scale, distributed solutions to our nation’s energy needs, particularly for peaking power. Like all solar technologies, they are fueled by sunshine and do not release greenhouse gases. They are unique among solar electric technologies in their ability to efficiently store solar energy and dispatch electricity to the grid when needed — even at night or during cloudy weather. A single 100-megawatt power tower with 12 hours of storage needs only 1000 acres of otherwise non-productive land to supply enough electricity for 50,000 homes. Throughout the sunny Southwest, millions of acres are available with solar resources that could easily produce solar power at the scale of hydropower in the Northwest U. S.

What is the Status of Power Tower Technology?

Power towers enjoy the benefits of two successful, large-scale demonstration plants. The 10-MW Solar One plant near Barstow, CA, demonstrated the viability of power towers, producing over 38 million kilowatt-hours of electricity during its operation from 1982 to 1988. The Solar Two plant was a retrofit of Solar One to demonstrate the advantages of molten salt for heat transfer and thermal storage. Utilizing its highly efficient molten-salt energy storage system, Solar Two successfully demonstrated efficient collection of solar energy and dispatch of electricity, including the ability to routinely produce electricity during cloudy weather and at night. In one demonstration, it delivered power to the grid 24 hours per day for nearly 7 straight days before cloudy weather interrupted operation.

The successful conclusion of Solar Two sparked worldwide interest in power towers. As Solar Two completed operations, an international consortium, led by the U. S. (with technical support from Sandia National Laboratories), formed to pursue power tower plants worldwide, especially in Spain (where special solar premiums make the technology cost-effective), but also in Egypt, Morocco, and Italy. Their first commercial power tower plant is planned to be four times the size of Solar Two (about 40 MW equivalent, utilizing storage to power a 15MW turbine up to 24 hours per day).

This industry is also actively pursuing opportunities to build a similar plant in our desert Southwest, where a 30 to 50 MW plant would take advantage of the Spanish design and production capacity to reduce costs, while providing much needed peaking capacity for the Western grid. The first such plant would cost in the range of $100M and produce power for about 15¢/kWh. While still somewhat higher in cost than conventional technologies in the peaking market, the cost differential could be made up with modest green power subsidies and political support, jump-starting this technology on a path to 7¢/kWh power with the economies of scale and engineering improvements of the first few plants. It would, at that point, provide clean power as economically as more conventional technologies.

The Solar Dish Engine project will evaluate the performance of the “critical” parts of the Stirling engine and develop the next-generation of the 25 kW Solar Dish Engine System.

Solar Dish Engine

What is a Solar Dish-Engine System?

A Solar Dish-Engine System is an electric generator that “burns” sunlight instead of gas or coal to produce electricity. The major parts of a system are the solar concentrator and the power conversion unit. Descriptions of these subsystems and how they operate are presented below.

The dish, which is more specifically referred to as a concentrator, is the primary solar component of the system. It collects the solar energy coming directly from the sun (the solar energy that causes you to cast a shadow) and concentrates or focuses it on a small area. The resultant solar beam has all of the power of the sunlight hitting the dish but is concentrated in a small area so that it can be more efficiently used. Glass mirrors reflect ~92% of the sunlight that hits them, are relatively inexpensive, can be cleaned, and last a long time in the outdoor environment, making them an excellent choice for the reflective surface of a solar concentrator. The dish structure must track the sun continuously to reflect the beam into the thermal receiver.

The power conversion unit includes the thermal receiver and the engine/generator. The thermal receiver is the interface between the dish and the engine/generator. It absorbs the concentrated beam of solar energy, converts it to heat, and transfers the heat to the engine/generator. A thermal receiver can be a bank of tubes with a cooling fluid, usually hydrogen or helium, which is the heat transfer medium and also the working fluid for an engine. Alternate thermal receivers are heat pipes wherein the boiling and condensing of an intermediate fluid is used to transfer the heat to the engine.

The engine/generator system is the subsystem that takes the heat from the thermal receiver and uses it to produce electricity. The most common type of heat engine used in dish-engine systems is the Stirling engine. A Stirling engine uses heat provided from an external source (like the sun) to move pistons and make mechanical power, similar to the internal combustion engine in your car. The mechanical work, in the form of the rotation of the engine’s crankshaft, is used to drive a generator and produce electrical power.

In addition to the Stirling engine, concentrating photovoltaic technologies are also being evaluated as possible future power conversion unit technologies. A photovoltaic conversion system is not actually an engine, but a semi-conductor array, in which the sunlight is directly converted into electricity.

What are the markets for Solar Dish-Engine Systems?

Solar dish-engine systems are being developed for use in emerging global markets for distributed generation, green power, remote power, and grid-connected applications. Individual units, ranging in size from 9 to 25 kilowatts, can operate independent of power grids in remote sunny locations to pump water or to provide electricity for people living in remote areas. Largely because of their high efficiency and “conventional” construction, the cost of dish-engine systems is expected to compete in distributed markets.

Opportunities are emerging for the deployment of dish-engine systems in the Southwest U.S. Many states are adopting green power requirements in the form of “portfolio standards” and renewable energy mandates. While the potential markets in the U.S. are large, the size of developing worldwide markets is immense. The International Energy Agency projects an increased demand for electrical power worldwide more than doubling installed capacity. More than half of this is in developing countries and a large part is in areas with good solar resources, limited fossil fuel supplies, and no power distribution network. The potential payoff for dish-engine system developers is the opening of these immense global markets for the export of power generation systems.

Experience gained with Solar Two has established a foundation which will lead to the first commercial Concentrating Photovoltaic Power Plant

Business and Market Opportunities

With one of the best direct normal insolation resources anywhere on earth, the southwestern states are poised to reap large and as yet largely uncaptured economic benefits from this important natural resource. California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico are each exploring policies that will nurture the development Concentrated Solar Power Technologies..

In addition to the concentrating solar power projects under way in this country, a number of projects are being developed in India, Egypt, Morocco, and Mexico. In addition, independent power producers are in the early stages of design and development for potential parabolic trough power projects in Greece (Crete) and Spain. Given successful deployment of one or more of these initial markets, additional project opportunities are expected in these and other regions.

One key competitive advantage of concentrating solar energy systems is their close resemblance to most of the power plants operated by the nation's power industry. Concentrating solar power technologies utilize many of the same technologies and equipment used by conventional central station power plants, simply substituting the concentrated power of the sun for the combustion of fossil fuels to provide the energy for conversion into electricity. This "evolutionary" aspect—as distinguished from "revolutionary" or "disruptive"—results in easy integration into today's central station–based electric utility grid. It also makes concentrating solar power technologies the most cost-effective solar option for the production of large-scale electricity generation.

Analysts predict the opening of specialized niche markets in this country for the solar power industry over the next 5 to 10 years. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that by 2005 there will be as much as 500 megawatts of concentrating solar power capacity installed worldwide.

What Does It Cost?

Concentrating solar power technologies currently offer the lowest-cost solar electricity for large-scale power generation (10 megawatt-electric and above). Current technologies cost $2–$3 per watt. This results in a cost of solar power of 9¢–12¢ per kilowatt-hour. New innovative hybrid systems that combine large concentrating solar power plants with conventional natural gas combined cycle or coal plants can reduce costs to $1.5 per watt and drive the cost of solar power to below 8¢ per kilowatt hour.

Advancements in the technology and the use of low-cost thermal storage will allow future concentrating solar power plants to operate for more hours during the day and shift solar power generation to evening hours. Future advances are expected to allow solar power to be generated for 4¢–5¢ per kilowatt-hour in the next few decades.

Renewable Energy Is Necessary for Net Zero Energy Buildings

Supply-Side Technologies

Ranking of Energy Options

The Audubon Nature Center Installs Solar Trigeneration System
Making this one of the World's First "Net Zero Energy Buildings"
at Their New Facility in Los Angeles, California

NO CONNECTION TO THE ELECTRIC UTILITY!

The Solar Trigeneration Provides All of their Facility's (5000 sq.ft.)
Cooling, Heating and Power Requirements, Even After the Sun Sets
And WITHOUT ANY CONNECTION to the Electric Utility
with out Solar Trigeneration System!

Renewable Energy Is Necessary for Net Zero Energy Buildings

Supply-Side Technologies

Ranking of Energy Options

The Audubon Nature Center Installs Solar Trigeneration System Making this one of the World's First "Net Zero Energy Buildings" at Their New Facility in Los Angeles, California

NO CONNECTION TO THE ELECTRIC UTILITY! The Solar Trigeneration Provides All of their Facility's (5000 sq.ft.) Cooling, Heating and Power Requirements, Even After the Sun Sets And WITHOUT ANY CONNECTION to the Electric Utility with out Solar Trigeneration System!

The Audubon Nature Center Installs Solar Trigeneration System
Making this one of the World's First "Net Zero Energy Buildings"
at Their New Facility in Los Angeles, California

NO CONNECTION TO THE ELECTRIC UTILITY!

The Solar Trigeneration Provides All of their Facility's (5000 sq.ft.)
Cooling, Heating and Power Requirements, Even After the Sun Sets
And WITHOUT ANY CONNECTION to the Electric Utility
with out Solar Trigeneration System!