Concentrated Solar Power with Thermal Energy Storage Can Help Utilities’ Bottom Line, Study Shows

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.nrel.gov/news/press/2012/2052.html

[font face=Serif]News Release NR-5012

[font size=5]Concentrated Solar Power with Thermal Energy Storage Can Help Utilities’ Bottom Line, Study Shows[/font]

December 20, 2012

[font size=4]The storage capacity of concentrating solar power (CSP) can add significant value to a utility company’s optimal mix of energy sources, a new report by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) suggests.[/font]

[font size=3]The report found that CSP with a six-hour storage capacity can lower peak net loads when the sun isn’t shining, enough to add $35.80 per megawatt hour to the capacity and operational value of the utility, compared to photovoltaic (PV) solar power alone, and even higher extra value when compared to CSP without storage. The net load is the normal load minus variable renewables such as photovoltaic and wind.

The additional value comes because thermal storage allows CSP to displace more expensive gas-fired generation during peak loads, rather than displacing lower-priced coal; and because it can continue to flatten the peak load in the evenings when PV isn’t contributing to the mix because the sun has set.

The report, “Simulating the Value of Concentrating Solar Power with Thermal Energy Storage in a Production Cost Model,” by NREL’s Paul Denholm and Marissa Hummon, noted that the $35.80 per megawatt extra value would come in a scenario in which there is relatively high penetration of renewables into the utility’s mix, about 34 percent. If the penetration was lower, the extra value would be lessened.

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[AtheistCrusader]

1. These things are the best thermal solution by far.

Even Geothermal releases lots of greenhouse gasses. Concentrating solar is great stuff. I far prefer it to PV.