boutons_deux
07-05-2011, 10:19 AM
http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Torresol-Energy.jpg
Torresol’s 19.9 MW concentrating solar power plant became the first ever to generate uninterrupted electricity for 24 hours straight.
The plant uses a Power Tower design which features a field of 2,650 mirrors that concentrate sunlight onto a boiler in a central receiver tower. The plant also utilizes molten salt as a heat-transfer fluid that allows the plant to generate electricity when there’s no sunlight.
Torresol says that the plant will provide electricity for about 20 hours each day on average, with numerous days in the summer seeing 24-hours of supply. How does that compare with a similar-sized PV plant? The 21.2 MW Solarpark Calaveron in Spain generates about 40 GWh a year. This smaller 19.9 MW power tower plant will generate about 110 GWh per year.
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/07/05/260438/solar-can-be-baseload-spanish-csp-plant-with-storage-produces-electricity-for-24-hours-straight/
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but US bankers betting on solar-voltaic
Solar Thermal Plants Losing out to Photovoltaics
that's led some solar power plant projects to switch from using solar thermal technology—which involves concentrating sunlight to generate high temperatures that can be used to generate electricity—for photovoltaics, solar panels that convert sunlight to electricity directly.
the issue may also be something called bankability. Solar panels are established technology—banks have a pretty good idea how long they'll last and what the return on investment will be. Much of the solar thermal technology being deployed now hasn't been tested on a large scale for long periods of time, which can make financing harder.
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/energy/26961/?ref=rss
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India Solar Boom: Rural Poor Give Up On Power Grid
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/301559/thumbs/r-INDIA-SOLAR-POWER-BOOM-large570.jpg
Across India, thousands of homes are receiving their first light through small companies and aid programs that are bypassing the central electricity grid to deliver solar panels to the rural poor. Those customers could provide the human energy that advocates of solar power have been looking for to fuel a boom in the next decade.
With 40 percent of India's rural households lacking electricity and nearly a third of its 30 million agricultural water pumps running on subsidized diesel, "there is a huge market and a lot of potential," said Santosh Kamath, executive director of consulting firm KPMG in India. "Decentralized solar installations are going to take off in a very big way and will probably be larger than the grid-connected segment."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/04/india-solar-power-boom_n_889760.html
Torresol’s 19.9 MW concentrating solar power plant became the first ever to generate uninterrupted electricity for 24 hours straight.
The plant uses a Power Tower design which features a field of 2,650 mirrors that concentrate sunlight onto a boiler in a central receiver tower. The plant also utilizes molten salt as a heat-transfer fluid that allows the plant to generate electricity when there’s no sunlight.
Torresol says that the plant will provide electricity for about 20 hours each day on average, with numerous days in the summer seeing 24-hours of supply. How does that compare with a similar-sized PV plant? The 21.2 MW Solarpark Calaveron in Spain generates about 40 GWh a year. This smaller 19.9 MW power tower plant will generate about 110 GWh per year.
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/07/05/260438/solar-can-be-baseload-spanish-csp-plant-with-storage-produces-electricity-for-24-hours-straight/
=========
but US bankers betting on solar-voltaic
Solar Thermal Plants Losing out to Photovoltaics
that's led some solar power plant projects to switch from using solar thermal technology—which involves concentrating sunlight to generate high temperatures that can be used to generate electricity—for photovoltaics, solar panels that convert sunlight to electricity directly.
the issue may also be something called bankability. Solar panels are established technology—banks have a pretty good idea how long they'll last and what the return on investment will be. Much of the solar thermal technology being deployed now hasn't been tested on a large scale for long periods of time, which can make financing harder.
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/energy/26961/?ref=rss
=============
India Solar Boom: Rural Poor Give Up On Power Grid
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/301559/thumbs/r-INDIA-SOLAR-POWER-BOOM-large570.jpg
Across India, thousands of homes are receiving their first light through small companies and aid programs that are bypassing the central electricity grid to deliver solar panels to the rural poor. Those customers could provide the human energy that advocates of solar power have been looking for to fuel a boom in the next decade.
With 40 percent of India's rural households lacking electricity and nearly a third of its 30 million agricultural water pumps running on subsidized diesel, "there is a huge market and a lot of potential," said Santosh Kamath, executive director of consulting firm KPMG in India. "Decentralized solar installations are going to take off in a very big way and will probably be larger than the grid-connected segment."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/04/india-solar-power-boom_n_889760.html