By Fernando Nuno / Published on Tue, 2010-03-09 11:14
In this session the main elements of the parabolic trough technology will be described: concentrators, receivers, heat transfer fluids, connecting elements, etc.
Then, the main characteristics of today’s parabolic trough solar thermal power plants will be presented: design, operation and costs.
Finally, the audience will get some ideas for future developments.
This is the 2nd lesson of the general training on CSP technology.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Thu, 2010-03-04 18:21
Now in its fourth year, the Spanish Solar Industry conference will take place on 7-8 October 2010 in Madrid. This annual event will, among other topics, cover legislative developments, national and international market trends, look at how close Spain is to grid parity and bring in finance experts to show how to reduce costs for PV installations.
Solarpraxis invites all companies, associations, institutes, public-sector bodies and professionals to submit contributions related to the broad field of solar energy.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Thu, 2010-02-18 15:55
Lesson 1 : Fundamentals of concentrating solar thermal power
In this session, the contents will focus on the physical and thermodynamic basis of Concentrated Solar Power:
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2010-01-07 06:30
'Searching for a miracle'
Last September, an interesting new analysis was published by two California-based think tanks: Searching for a miracle / "Net Energy" limits & the fate of industrial society. The report, written by Richard Heinberg, is a joint initiative by the International Forum on Globalization and the Post Carbon Institute.
As with the book Sustainable energy / Without the hot air by David Mc Kay (on which we reported earlier on this blog), the report by Heinberg has as its principal merit a comprehensive analysis of the energy problem. With global warming becoming an increasingly important topic and the all-time peak of global oil production most probably behind us (July 2008, 87.9 million barrels per day), we can no longer hide behind local solutions. The world’s energy use will need a radical change in the upcoming decades.
But contrary to David Mc Kay’s book, Heinberg’s study also takes the cost, the reliability, and the potential transition speed of possible energy resources into account, as well as their physical and technical potential. However, Heinberg looks at the energy solutions separately and does not propose scenarios in which demand and production figures are added up and matched, as Mc Kay did.
It is worth noting that both experts put emphasis on the need for energy conservation and on the advantages of electricity as an energy carrier. Another common viewpoint of both experts is that they see only a very limited potential for biomass, ethanol, and biodiesel. Both also view wind energy and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) as very powerful options for the future.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Fri, 2009-11-27 15:06
This webinar will provide a general view of drivers and barriers for CSP development, with a particular focus on the structure of the CSP Value Chain. From a technical point of view, the main key performances will be reviewed for the different technologies.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Mon, 2009-06-29 12:29
ESTELA SOLAR is a European Industry Association created to support the emerging European solar thermal electricity industry for the generation of green power in Europe and abroad, mainly in the Mediterranean region.
ESTELA SOLAR involves and is open to all main actors in Europe : promoters, developers, manufacturers, utilities, engineering companies, research institutions.
Objectives:
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Mon, 2009-06-29 11:48
Protermosolar is the Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Industry Association in Spain, created in June 2004. It groups more than 50 associates.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2009-06-18 05:30
Incremental changes can result in substantial cost reductions
The technologies for producing electricity from solar thermal energy can be divided into three main categories:
- Parabolic trough and Fresnel systems
- Central receiver systems, including the solar updraft tower
- Parabolic dish systems, usually combined with a Stirling heat engine
The first commercial CSP plant, which was built in California in the 1980s, used the parabolic trough concept. It has a total capacity of 354 MW. For many years, this was the only large scale CSP plant in the world. Elsewhere, only small demonstration plants were built, as the high investment cost hampered further deployment.
In 2006, a new commercial 1 MW parabolic trough CSP plant was built in Tucson, Arizona. Since then, the development of CSP as a commercial electricity generating technology has taken off. Many CSP projects are currently being built, the majority of which are in Spain and the USA. It is very likely that because of this market boom, investment costs for CSP will go down. The question is how much and how quickly.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Thu, 2009-06-11 11:08
Our partner REEGLE has highlighted an interesting story. REEGLE is a one-stop shop and search engine for all renewable energy and energy efficiency-related information including jurisdiction and laws, policies and measures, finance and investment opportunities, reports and analyses and latest news.
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By HDK / Published on Fri, 2009-05-29 08:41
Date & Venue: June 16, 2009 - Arnhem
A new annual congress has been established with the intention of exchanging knowledge on low carbon electricity systems. The congress invites the participation of professionals interested in developing their vision of low carbon electricity, including policy makers, utility planning managers, consultants, energy industry representatives, research journalists and academics. Participants can expect a realistic, market-oriented approach with academic validation.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Thu, 2009-01-22 18:02
A comprehensive, multi-step approach to assessing solar energy opportunities for regional development and community energy planning is presented by Green Power Labs (Canada). This approach includes three major assessment steps:
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Thu, 2009-01-22 17:58
A methodology and software for high resolution solar resource mapping and monitoring will be presented by Green Power Labs (Canada). Solar radiation can be modelled based on satellite-derived information on visible clouds. This provides a comprehensive source of high-resolution solar climatology data for utility-scale solar power/thermal energy producers, and power utilities as well as other industries requiring accurate solar energy data.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2009-01-22 06:30
A crystal-clear and quantitative view of the road towards a low-carbon economy
The book Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air by David J.C. MacKay is a unique case among all of the current publications on this topic. If every author and decision maker involved with climate change and energy issues would take this book as a starting point before making any claims or proposals, the world would be saved a huge amount of discussion-energy, energy-to-disentangle-confusion, and energy-spent-on-fruitless-efforts.
'What exactly do you mean by "a huge amount"?' David MacKay would ask me at this point. Indeed, one of the remarkable facts about his book is that it is free of meaningless claims. In his introduction, he cites that most publications on sustainable energy do not give numbers or examples that are easily compared or put into perspective. What they do give are data used simply to impress.
MacKay’s book, on the other hand, constructs several numeric examples on how to create a low carbon economy in the UK. He reduces all figures to the unit of kWh per person per day, making the problem suddenly very transparent.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2008-07-10 05:30
Feasible if all stakeholders actively co-operate
A new study by Clean Edge concludes that generating 10% of the electricity consumed in the US with solar energy by 2025 is a feasible target. The Utility Solar Assessment (USA) Study has presented utilities, solar companies, and regulators a roadmap of how to reach this target.
Today, solar energy in the US contributes a mere 0.06% of all power generated. Reaching 10% by 2025 would require an active and co-ordinated effort on the part of all stakeholders. The following are the main action points mentioned in the report:
- Utilities should take advantage of solar energy’s ability to generate peak power, and they should implement solar energy as a key element in the build-out of the smart grid
- Solar companies need to bring the cost of a solar installation down to $3 per watt peak by 2018
- Regulators and policy makers should continue the current system of tax credits for solar energy for the foreseeable future
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