Chevy, gas-friendly to gas-freeBig solar: Utility-scale power plants arise
When it comes to solar these days, it's go big or go home.
Utilities are being pushed to use more renewable energy, heating up the business of large-scale solar power. (Click here for related photo gallery.)
There are competing designs for utility-scale solar farms. By concentrating light to make steam, some designs use heat to generate electricity. In parallel, other companies concentrate light onto photovoltaic cells to generate electricity.
Click on the image to view a photo gallery of different utility-scale solar technologies.
(Credit: Schott)The latter, known as concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) systems, may make more sense in a broader set of geographies, compared with concentrating solar thermal. Both forms of concentrating solar power are meant to improve on sun-tracking flat panels.
Which technological approach will win out isn't clear yet, but the demand for centralized solar-power generation systems is there.
Prometheus Institute forecasts that 50 gigawatts of electricity could be generated this way by 2020. Currently, there 430 megawatts worth of concentrating solar power systems installed around the world, according to Emerging Energy Research.
California and Spain are the biggest markets for these concentrating solar power systems. If renewable portfolio standards get passed in more states, we could see a much greater diversity of technologies beyond the solar trough and solar tower.
The Prometheus Institute, in a report published by Greentech Media, forecasts that concentrating photovoltaic technologies will be used in midsize to large power plants that range from about 1 megawatt of production to about 100 megawatts.
Concentrating solar thermal systems, meanwhile, will dominate very large centralized power generation.
(Credit: Prometheus Institute/Greentech Media)Update on May 27: added that Greentech Media is publisher of concentrating solar power report.
Martin LaMonica is a senior writer for CNET's Green Tech blog. He started at CNET News in 2002, covering IT and Web development. Before that, he was executive editor at IT publication InfoWorld. E-mail Martin.
"Supersize solar power
May 26, 2008 6:00 AM PDT
Caption text by Martin LaMonicaElsa
Another way to use heat to make electricity is with a Stirling engine.
These reflective concentrator dishes from Stirling Engine Systems measure 38 feet in diameter and include 82 curved mirrors. They track the sun and focus its heat onto a Stirling engine that generates up to 25 kilowatts of electricity. Tests of the SunCatcher system at Sandia National Laboratories in February found them to be 31 percent efficient. Stirling Engine Systems is set to provide up to 1,750 megawatts at two locations through agreements with San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison."
Is that "1750 megawatts" figure a typo? If true, these two locations would be able to power approximately 1 million average american homes. I find that hard to believe.
I'm considering buying a house in California that utilized solar power as an incentive that was based on the real estate model described by Adam Edward Rothwell, a real estate professional and attorney at www.solarpowerandrealestate.com I think down the road solar power will become a fundamental part of more real estate transactions.
CalSun, could you email me? I'd like to hear about your experience getting panels that way.
Lets hope the growth is a lot faster than what is shown.
The idea of green energy is very good, but as per my comments the easier ways of making are also available.
Solar dishes will focus radiations on heat collecting vaccume tubes they heat up the oil , this oil will then operate the boilers then steam from boilers will rotate steam turbines and then ultimately power will produced.
hell of maintenence equipment like pumps , boilers , pipelines, insulation, valves, turbines , circulatory systems , etc . will involve in the project, Moreover this is heat oriented project so you need to focus light every moment on the tubes , so tracking system will involve so the cost of this experiment will be more than expectations.
Why dont you simply create solar photovoltiac farms with established grids , this will include no mechenical mainenence and will continuously produce energy for 30 to 50 years troublefree.
The idea of green energy is very good, but as per my comments the easier ways of making are also available.
Solar dishes will focus radiations on heat collecting vaccume tubes they heat up the oil , this oil will then operate the boilers then steam from boilers will rotate steam turbines and then ultimately power will produced.
hell of maintenence equipment like pumps , boilers , pipelines, insulation, valves, turbines , circulatory systems , etc . will involve in the project, Moreover this is heat oriented project so you need to focus light every moment on the tubes , so tracking system will involve so the cost of this experiment will be more than expectations.
Why dont you simply create solar photovoltiac farms with established grids , this will include no mechenical mainenence and will continuously produce energy for 30 to 50 years troublefree.