Solar for Power Generating Plants


 

Ausra is at the vanguard of large scale power generation. Its solar storage system generates power at centralized stations using concentrating solar power to create steam that turns a turbine to make electricity. It also stores hot water that a power plant can draw on during times when the sun is not shining, reducing the cost to 8 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to 12 cents for natural gas. http://www.ausra.com/

Solar Two has built a 10-megawatt Solar Two power tower pilot plant near Barstow, California. It collects and stores concentrated solar energy in molten salt and generates electricity when needed by the utility and its customers. The unique storage capability allowed solar energy to be collected when the sun is shining and electric power to be generated even when the sun is not shining. Details: http://www.energylan.sandia.gov/sunlab/Snapshot/STFUTURE.HTM

SkyFuel was awarded a grant by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop its advanced Concentrating Solar Power system known as the Linear Power Tower for utility-scale solar thermal power plants. LPT is a high-temperature linear Fresnel system with molten salt storage. The diagram at left looks like a grill for an air conditioner, but it actually shows a football pitch-sized array of solar mirrors.


HelioDynamics uses solar concentrators use mirror banks which concentrate solar radiation onto a receiver unit to produce heat or a combination of heat-and-power. They are designed to be mounted on roofs, on parking lots and in open-field sites. Units can be added to produce MW capacities of power. http://www.hdsolar.com/

Nevada Solar One is a 64-megawatt power plant outside of Las Vegas, Nevada which supplies electric power to the municipal grid. Acciona Solar Power built the plant. Press Release: http://news.com.com/Solar+thermal+energy+making
+a+comeback/2100-11392_3-6189468.html?tag=cd.lede

EMCORE Received a $24 Million Purchase Order for Concentrator Solar Cells from Green and Gold Energy
EMCORE Corporation has been awarded an order for 3 million solar cells for use in GGE's SunCube(TM) terrestrial concentrator system. This 105 MW purchase order represents the largest procurement of concentrator solar cells in the industry to date.
Additionally, EMCORE attained a record 39% conversion efficiency under 1000x concentrated illumination on its multi-cell products currently in high volume production. http://www.emcore.com/


 
                                          Concentrated Solar


Los Alamos Renewable Energy - Solar Reduction of Carbon Dioxide (SOLAREC™) produces fuel while simultaneously producing electricity from solar energy, at a cost competitive with fossil fuel generated power. The fuel can be burned at night to produce power 24/7 with no environmentally harmful by-products. The process has an over-all efficiency of nearly 48%. http://www.lare.us/

Menova Energy developer of the Power-Spar® solar concentrator can be configured for electricity, heat, cooling and/or lighting solutions. It consists of a parabolic trough reflector which concentrates the sun's energy onto a modular absorber. Capable of capturing up to 80% of the sun's energy, Power-Spar systems can reduce energy bills by as much as 70%.
http://www.power-spar.com

SpectroLab has continued to produce world-record (terrestrial) concentrator cells, the latest of which is the 40.7% efficient http://www.spectrolab.com/
 

PhotoVolt – features Vertical Multi-Junction (VMJ™) solar cells for photovoltaic power systems that are cost-competitive with traditional fossil-fuel sources of electricity. A postage stamp size VMJ cell delivers 100 watts at 1000 suns.
Press Release: http://users.adelphia.net/~esch/index.html

 
AzurSpace has developed Triple Junction Cells on Ge Substrate for Concentrations up to 1000x. Supplier for commercial and large scale systems via SOL3G http://www.sol3g.com/   or     http://www.azurspace.com/

 


                                      Solar Thermal Systems


Schott is a pioneer in developing receivers for Solar Thermal Power Plants – the heart of solar power systems. Schott built the first Solar Thermal Parabolic Trough Power Plant in The U.S.  It features a large acreage tract of mirrors, all directing the sun’s rays on one spot – which in turn gets very hot. That’s basically what electricity generation is about; generate high heat to power generators. http://schott.com

Solargenix / Nevada Solar One has built a 64-megawatt Solar Thermal Electric Generating Plant located in Boulder City, Nevada. Also by Solargenix: The Winston Series Compound Parabolic Collector (CPC) using non-imaging optics to focus sunlight onto a high efficiency absorber tube. Can be used for solar water heating, space heating and solar cooling applications. http://www.solargenix.com/

The Saguaro Solar Generating Station uses rows of parabolic mirrors to focus the sun’s rays onto SCHOTT PTR 70® receivers, enabling the generation of clean electricity.


Solel’s Mojave Solar Park is a 553 megawatt solar thermal plant on 6,000 acres (15,000 rai) of the Mojave Desert, Arizona. The plant will use Solel's solar thermal parabolic trough technology which has powered nine operating solar power plants in the Mojave Desert and is currently generating 354 MW of annual electricity. http://www.solel.com/

Solucar's 600-mirror Solar Tower in Seville Spain is the first commercial concentrator station in Europe. It focuses Sunlight onto water pipes at the top of a 40-storey concrete tower, which drives a turbine to generate 11 megawatts of electricity. Thousands more mirrors will be added to further boost the output. Added details: http://www.solucar.es/

Shuff Steel from Phoenix Arizona, is in partnership with Stirling Corporation building a solar farm located north of Los Angeles. It is to produce 500 megawatts of power from 20,000 25-kilowatt Stirling solar dishes that are 38 feet tall. The project includes an option where the farm could be expanded to 850 megawatts and 34,000 dishes. Rather than PV panels, the solar farm’s panels harnesses heat from the sun with 82 mirrors and reflect it toward a series of hydrogen-filled tubes that expand when heated. The expanding gas cycles back and forth from cold to hot, and its movement powers a piston that creates up to 25 kilowatts of power.


Luz 400 MW Solar Thermal Plant features a tall tower – the top of which becomes the focus of all the mirrors on ground level below.Press release: http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story;js
essionid=8510AAA5F374B296CD44C510C2E54C79?id=49887

BrightSource Energy plans to develop a solar thermal power complex in California, utilizing Distributed Power Tower (DPT) technology developed by Luz II (http://www.luz2.com/). It consists of mirrors called heliostats, which reflect the sun's light to a central tower to heat water and run a steam turbine to create electricity. http://www.brightsourceenergy.com/

Sopogy solar thermal power units which can fit on a building's roof, to generate electricity on-site rather than in giant power plants. Each MicroCSP collector produces 500 watts, roughly what a house consumes. http://www.sopogy.com/

eSolar Utility-Scale Solar Power eSolar heliostats were designed to minimize cost, realizing economy-of-scale benefits at much smaller power plant sizes than traditional solar thermal plants. Mass manufacturing means eSolar power plants are cost competitive with coal and fossil fuels. http://www.esolar.com/

                                Photovoltiac Systems / PV Panels


Amonix has developed High Concentration Photovoltaic (HCPV) power generation systems for large commercial and utility scale applications offer significant cost savings by using inexpensive flat, plastic Fresnel lenses to concentrate sunlight approximately 500 times. The Amonix high-concentration silicon solar cell holds the world record for the performance of a cell manufactured in a commercial environment. (26.5% efficiency). http://www.amonix.com/

Concentrix Solar GmbH based in Germany, features FLATCON® concentrator PV modules to focus sunlight on high-performance solar cells, which then directly convert solar energy into electricity. Fresnel lenses focus direct sunlight through a 2mm-diameter focal x`point, concentrating the sunlight by a factor of 500. http://www.concentrixsolar.de/

Green and Gold Energy based in Australia, uses SunCube / SolarCube™ which in turn use Fresnel lenses to focus sun's energy onto photovoltaic cells. 5.8 cents per kWh. http://www.greenandgoldenergy.com.au/

SOL3G is a Spanish company manufacturing solar photovoltaic concentrators using 32% efficient triple junction cells. Alos commerically available in MW quantities. http://www.sol3g.com/

 
SolFocus combines the record-setting efficiency of triple-junction solar cells with the magnifying power of tailored imaging optics. The current designs of SolFocus promise to deliver the lowest cost-per-watt of installed energy as well as the lowest cost per kW/h of any solar PV design for the foreseeable future. http://www.solfocus.com/

 
Practical Instruments / Heliotube brings together the efficiency of concentrator technology with the convenience of a traditional flat panel. Heliotube’s concentrators have integrated tracking built into the panel, enabling roof mounting and uniform power throughout the day. The company's product uses 88% less photovoltaic material than traditional panels.
http://www.practical-instruments.com/index.php

Pacific SolarTech produces concentrator photovoltaic modules for utility-scale, remote and grid-connected systems using dome-shaped lenses to concentrate sunlight 10x onto small solar cells. This reduces the requisite amount of silicone, making solar power affordable. Dome-shaped lenses can diffuse light and redirect it to the solar cells with a fixed, non-tracking mount for rooftop applications. http://www.pacificsolartech.com/

Whitfield Solar is a British company developing a solar concentrated PV system using fresnel lenses and triple junction cells. Pilot systems were installed in Spain in 2006. http://www.whitfieldsolar.com/

Prism Solar Technologies manufactures a new type of photovoltaic module that uses transparent holographic optical elements to reduce the amount of silicon required. Spectral selection keeps it cool. Passive tracking reduces the cost. http://www.prismsolar.com/

New Kind of Solar Plant  Press Release: http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/768/

GreenVolts concentrated solar PV plants are being installed in California by PG&E (municipal power company) as solar plants designed to produce up to five megawatts during the peak demand at the hottest part of the day. They're composed of small mirrors that concentrate the sun's light on a small, ultra-efficient photovoltaic cell. http://www.greenvolts.com/

Solaria is developing a "new form of low-concentration solar PV multiplying technology that produces two to three times the number of PV cells from the same amount of silicon material." http://www.Solaria.com/

Entech uses inexpensive Fresnel lenses capture the sunlight, and focus it onto small solar cells, thereby reducing electricity costs compared to conventional flat-plate (planar) solar energy approaches. This method concentrates the sunlight 20 times, while also reducing the use of silicon cell material by 95%. http://www.entechsolar.com/

Maxxun is developing luminescent solar energy concentrators with special coatings to enhance the light output of these concentrators by 2-3 times. The concentrators are combined with highly efficient photovoltaic cells and it is anticipated that these systems will provide solar energy at a cost which is competitive with the standard electric grid. http://www.maxxun.com/

Solenergy is an Australian company which has developed Sunflower SRC Solar Ridge Concentrators which are a simple, reliable and low cost way to generate twice as much energy as fixed modules. They have achieved a recordable 12 cents per kW-hour energy cost. Ridge concentrators do not require precise tracking, which makes them very simple in installation and reliable in operation. http://www.solenergy.com.au/

 
Stellaris has demonstrated Concentrating Photovoltaic Glazing (CPG) can lower manufacturing costs of solar modules by more than 40% versus those of leading competitors in the solar industry. Superior encapsulation technique also increases efficiency by over 20% and provides greater protection of the photovoltaic (PV) material. Final module cost approaches $1/watt. http://www.stellaris-corp.com/

Sliver Solar Cells - New manufacturing process developed at the Australian National University uses as little as 1/30th the amount of hyper-pure silicon as in square solar PV technology. Manufacturing plant is complete, and process testing is underway. The thinness of the wafers makes them flexible and both top and bottom surfaces are active. Can be used for curved surfaced such as car/truck roofs.


PARC concentrator PV (CPV) module reduces the size of the CPV design into a smaller, thin, flat, molded glass tile and yields an even more high-performance, cost-effective solution.  Sol Solution is developing a photovoltaic system that takes advantage of chromatic aberration called a 'Rainbow Concentrator' to separate and concentrate the solar spectrum. This will allow higher efficiencies for solar cells that are optimized for a specific range of wavelengths http://www.parc.com/

H2Go has committed to first generation design incorporating non-imaging compound concentrating optics employing the Spectrolab triple junction cells. The concentration ratio is 500 suns, allowing for passive cooling. http://www.h2go.org/

Infinia produces a 3 Kw Solar Stirling product for commercial and residential users which will generate electricity more efficiently and economically than Photovoltaic (PV) systems. It concentrates sunlight on a free-piston Stirling engine made from common materials using low-cost manufacturing techniques, delivering a net system efficiency of over 24%.http://www.infiniacorp.com/
 

Sunengy Liquid Solar Array - The LSA system is based on floating solar collectors made mostly of plastic. Each has a very small area of silicon photovoltaic cells at the water surface with a large, thin plastic focussing lens rotating slowly above to track the sun. Has the potential to produce electricity for 3 US cents per Kw hour. http://www.sunengy.com/

Pyron Solar - Developed in cooperation with Boeing-Spectrolab a low-profile floating system with short-focal-length lenses concentrating direct sunlight by 400X onto photovoltaic cells. These advanced multi-junction cells produce 800 times more electricity than conventional non-concentrating cells the same size. High efficiency and low material requirements make the new system competitive with conventional power plants. http://www.pyronsolar.com/US/

SV Solar or Silicon Valley Solar manufactures flat plate, internal concentrator solar modules, that produce 16% more power with half the solar cells. Sol-X modules do not require tracking and uses no moving parts. Additionally, it is efficient, reliable, cost effective and easy to install. http://www.sv-solar.com/

Energy Innovations - Standing over five feet square and five feet high, the Sunflower™ has 25 mirrors that track the sun, reflecting light onto the receiver. The solar cell array turns concentrated light into electricity while fans keep operating temperatures low. Cost is about two-thirds that of comparably rated PV-based systems. http://www.energyinnovations.com/

Total Spectrum Solar Concentrator - United Innovations first concentrates the solar energy via parabolic reflectors, then splits the light through a prism to focus the wavelengths onto solar collectors optimized for a given spectrum.


Solarsphere Technology combines elements of both direct intercept dishes and Solar Towers. The design focuses on spheres and lightweight, thin film materials. Concentrators can be ramped up to larger scale which are low-cost and can be mass produced.
http://www.seao2.com/solarsphere/csp.htm

Cool Earth Solar is a company which has developed an inflatable solar concentrator technology that slashes materials costs, making solar farms competitive with commercial electricity generation systems.


NuEdison - has created a low concentration photovoltaic module that gets up to twice the power out of any other solar cell, requires no tracking, is simple to manufacture. Can be installed on a roof. http://www.nuedison.com

Solaria - applies existing technologies from the semi-conductor and optics industries to established form factors and testing methodologies of current PV production. The result is a new form of low-concentration solar PV technology that produces two to three times the number of PV modules from the same amount of silicon material.  http://www.solaria.com/

Israeli Solar - DiSP’s unique concept in solar energy is a miniature concentrating photovoltaic (MCPV) unit that increases
efficiency to 79% by capturing and transforming the sun’s heat as well. In areas of sustained sun, the cost could be lower than utility prices, about 15x better than flat panel PV systems. http://www.disp.co.il/

Flagsol has their New Solar Collector which are a new line of parabolic trough collectors that will reduce costs by 15%-20%. Flagsol is showing that solar thermal energy costs-per-Kw can match or beat cost-per-Kw for coal or fossil fuels. http://www.flagsol.com

For added info on Parabolic Trough Technology:
http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2007/04/parabolic_trough.html

                       Organizations Which Promote Alternative Energy
                                     - a wealth of useful info, including news releases -


Palang Thai is a Thailand-based non-profit organization that works to ensure that the transformations that occur in the region's energy sector are economically rational, and that they augment, rather than undermine, social and environmental justice and sustainability. http://www.palangthai.org/

The Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC) an initiative of the Club of Rome. TREC is a group of scientists, engineers and politicians developing a collaboration amongst countries in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (EUMENA) to take advantage of the truly enormous quantities of solar energy falling as sunlight on the world's hot deserts. http://www.trecers.net/

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) coined the name ‘TroughNet’ to describe trough solar technology, which offers the lowest cost solar electric option for large power plant applications. TroughNet is a technical resource that offers information about the various components of a solar trough. http://www.nrel.gov/csp/troughnet/

TREC-UK is a group of volunteers, mainly in the UK, who are developing concepts developed by TREC and aim to raise awareness of those concepts in the UK and beyond. TREC-Australia http://www.trec.net.au/ 
The UK branch is; http://www.trec-uk.org.uk/index.htm

42.8% Solar Cell Efficiency Using a novel technology that adds multiple innovations to a very high-performance crystalline silicon solar cell platform, a consortium led by the University of Delaware (UD) has achieved a record-breaking combined solar cell efficiency of 42.8 percent. Details: http://www.cis.udel.edu/~honsberg/Refs/50percent-hawaii.pdf

While still in development, intermediate band solar cells could promise efficiencies up to 63.2%! To be cost effective, the design will only be applicable in highly concentrated sunlight applications suited to utility-grade solar power. Details: http://www.insidegreentech.com/node/1365

Soliant Energy has designed a solar concentrator that combines both lenses and mirrors in a compact roof-mounted system that tracks the sun, focusing light on small areas of photovoltaic material. They are manufactured at half the cost of conventional solar panels. http://www.soliant-energy.com/

Nevada Solar One is one of the world's largest solar installations, and generates 64 megawatts from Boulder City, Nevada. It covers 300 acres (750 rai) and contains 760 mirror arrays, each measuring about 100 meters. The mirrors direct sunlight onto an oil-filled tube which creates steam to turn a turbine, which in turn generates cheap electricity. Press release: http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/18718/
Nevada Solar One has also built a new large solar thermal power plant, has begun supplying electricity to the Nevada state grid. Similar and larger plants are being constructed in California's Mojave Desert, where an existing solar thermal plant has
been supplying commercial loads of electricity for over 20 years.
http://news.com.com/Solar+thermal+energy+making+a+comeback/2100-11392_3-6189468.html

Delta Electronics has developed a manufacturing process for modules using the high efficiency solar cells recently developed by Spectrolab The new concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) modules will get greater than 35% efficiency  http://www.delta.com.tw/

Balloon technology cuts solar cost 90% Cool Earth Solar could make solar
energy cheaper than coal within a year, using inflatable solar PV concentrators
suspended above farmland. The company hopes to cut the cost of electricity to 29 cents per watt by 2010 http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0221-coolearth.html

Practical Instruments is in partnership with installers for the Heliotube. It reduces solar electric costs using 10 small reflective solar troughs that rotate to catch the sun for longer periods, and requires less silicon in construction.
http://www.practical-instruments.com/

A California startup company, SolFocus says it can slash the cost of solar power with its concentrator technology. At the heart of their system are thousands of small diameter (10 baht-sized) mirrors that focus sunlight on photovoltaic "dots" just one millimeter in size http://www.solfocus.com/

Prism Solar Technologies of NY has developed a proof-of-concept solar module that uses holograms to concentrate light, possibly cutting the cost of solar modules by as much as 75 %, making them competitive with electricity generated from fossil fuels. http://www.prismsolar.com/

                                    Using Solar to Produce Hydrogen


Isracast claims zinc powder will drive your hydrogen car.  The method concentrates solar energy for producing zinc, which can be stored and shipped, and then deployed for hydrogen release on demand. Said to be clean, safe and inexpensive; it's been developed by a cooperation of scientists from Israel, Sweden, Switzerland and France. http://www.isracast.com/

Sunlight Used to Produce Hydrogen From Water. Solar Hydrogen Energy Corporation has demonstrated that solar energy can be concentrated to over 1500°F and used to produce Hydrogen. Press release:
http://www.pureenergysystems.com/news/2004/07/09/6900033_Solar_Hydrogen/index.html

This page put together by Ken Albertsen
An American residing 10 years in Chiang Rai, Thailand

Contact:   Ken [at] Adventure1 .com

copyright 2008 by Adventure1 Publications