Solar thermal power plant gets close to the cost of coal
As the first commercial “concentrating solar power” or CSP plant built in 17 years, Nevada Solar One marks the reemergence and updating of a decades-old technology that could play a large new role in US power production, many observers say.
“Concentrating solar is pretty hot right now,” says Mark Mehos, program manager for CSP at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Co. “Costs look pretty good compared to natural gas [power]. Public policy, climate concern, and new technology are driving it, too.”
Today the United States has 420 megawatts of solar-thermal capacity across three installations – including Nevada Solar One. That’s just a tiny fraction (less than 1 percent) of US grid capacity. But Nevada Solar One could signal the start of a CSP building boom.
Comments
Solar Thermal Turboelectic power generation can in theory supply the entire U.S. electrical power needs.
Assuming 3,000 square kilometers of concentrator footprint area and an efficiency of 33 percent at conversion of incident solar energy to electrical power output, in normal mid-day clear whether, the power generated would be about 1,000 Gigawatts or one million megawatts, essentially equal to the peak electrical power output of the entire U.S. power grid. 10,000 square miles of collector area utilizing a molten salt system to provide heat at nighttime could produce a 24 hour per day output of one Terawatt of electricity.
10,000 square kilometers may sound like at lot, but it is only the equivalent of 62 miles by 62 miles, roughly the area of the smallest state of the union of Rhode Island.
The Earth receives roughly 10,000 times more energy than the total time averaged power output of all of human industry including electrical power systems, combustion engines, gas and oil heat etc.. The entire power output of the Sun is 4 billion times greater yet than the total power falling on Earth. It is a shame that we have not yet tapped into this source in a much more widespread manner.
Posted by: James M. Essig | August 28, 2008 9:08 PM
The US and Spain lead the way in solar thermal energy. Spain have plans for 60 large power stations in the near future. So the future for thermal energy is bright
Posted by: Total Solar Energy | September 28, 2008 6:41 AM