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concentrated solar power

Dubai To Set Up 1 GW Concentrated Solar Power Project

written by saurabh

After the record-breaking success in received in the auctions of 500 MW solar PV power capacity, Dubai is now planning to set up concentrated solar power (CSP) project.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has announced plans to set up 1 GW CSP capacity at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park. The project could very well be the largest CSP project in the world.

DEWA plans to have 1 GW CSP capacity operational by 2030 and will soon launch tender to allocate 200 MW capacity. The expansion of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park is part of DEWA’s strategy to meet its renewable energy target.

Dubai plans to source 7% of its electricity demand from clean energy sources by 2020. This share is slated to be increased to 25% by 2030 and 75% by 2050.

Dubai plans to have an installed capacity of 5 GW at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park by 2030. At least 3 GW of this capacity will be based on solar PV technology.

The first phase of the solar power park, 13 MW, is already operational. The second phase of 200 MW capacity is being developed by ACWA Power and TSK and is expected to be operational by April 2017. The third phase of 800 MW capacity was recently auctioned to a consortium of Abdul Latif Jameel (Saudi Arabia) + Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (Spain) + Masdar (UAE) for the low solar price bid of 2.99¢/kWh.

June 5, 2016 0 comment

Articles Renewable Energy

Ivanpah’s Contract Is Totally Legit, CPUC On Point

written by Susan Kraemer

Originally published on CleanTechnica.

A completely innovative technology that is one of the keys to slowing climate change was today allowed by the CPUC to fine-tune energy production. The decision results in no harm to ratepayers.

Ivanpah

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved PG&E’s December 18 request for a Forbearance Agreement for Ivanpah Units 1 and 3, giving the two units at least six months, and possibly a year, to meet current production targets of 448,000 MWh annually.

In unanimously approving the resolution, the CPUC noted that the plant has “substantially increased” its production.

The production targets escalate for a four-year ramp-up period till 2018, when 640,000 MWh should be generated by the two units under contract with PG&E. But there is a ramp-up period of 4 years.

Under averaged annual generation over its first two years, according to filing documents quoted by KQED’s Pete Danko, Units 1 and 3 were contracted to generate 70% of the 640,000 MWh; or 448,000 MWh.

Ivanpah I

Ivanpah III
In the first two years, according to the EIA data seen above, Ivanpah 1 and 3 generated an average between both years of 361,576.5 MWh, falling nearly 20% short of the targeted 448,000 MWh. But 2015 ramped up considerably.

Adding up Ivanpah’s — much improved — 2015 output, generation increased to 433,331 MWh of its 448,000 MWh target; around 97% of the goal.

“There was a more than 50% increase in production during the second year of operation compared to the first,” said Joe Desmond, spokesman for BrightSource, the initial developer and solar technology provider of Ivanpah, now operated by its partner NRG on behalf of Solar Partners (Google was the third partner).

Desmond told Cleantechnica that the Solar Partners are confident the plant can ramp up to full production by 2018 as originally planned.

“Now entering its third year, this first-of-its-kind solar thermal project continues to set new production records,” he said.

In December, PG&E had petitioned the CPUC to approve a Forbearance Agreement between PG&E and Solar Partners, giving more time for Ivanpah Unit #1 and Unit #3 to reach the contracted percentage of targeted generation under the PPA.

PG&E’s contract had envisioned a four-year ramp-up, because of the size and degree of innovation in Ivanpah.

As the largest CSP tower in the world, Ivanpah had over six times the capacity of its only US predecessor at the time. Nevada Solar One, a single tower, was just 60 MW net. (It also used molten salt-based technology, unlike Ivanpah).

Ivanpah was an enormous jump, as the first to use purely water-based thermal power towers, and the world’s largest CSP tower project, going right to 390 MW gross, of which 377 MW is available for net generation to the grid.

March 18, 2016 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Cleantech in Court: Green Patent Complaint Update

written by Eric Lane

Several new green patent lawsuits were filed in the last couple of months in the areas of LEDs, smart grid technologies, concentrated solar power, solar inverters, green dry cleaning solvents, and water treatment.

LEDs

Cree, Inc. v. Harvatek Corporation et al.

North Carolina LED maker Cree filed a couple of patent infringement suits in September and October. In the first, Cree sued Harvatek for alleged infringement of six patents relating to white light LED technology. The complaint was filed September 15, 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

Three of the asserted patents are of a first patent family and share the same title. Another two are part of a second family and share a title. The patents-in-suit are as follows:

U.S. Patent No. 6,600,175, entitled “Solid state white light emitter and display using same”

U.S. Patent No. 7,943,945, entitled “Solid state white light emitter and display using same”

U.S. Patent No. 8,659,034, entitled “Solid state white light emitter and display using same” (’034 Patent)

U.S. Patent No. 7,910,938, entitled “Encapsulant profile for light emitting diodes” (’938 Patent)

U.S. Patent No. 8,766,298, entitled “Encapsulant profile for light emitting diodes” (’298 Patent)

U.S. Patent No. 8,362,605, entitled “Apparatus and method for use in mounting electronic elements”

The complaint alleges that a number of Harvatek’s white LED products infringe the patents.

Cree, Inc. v. Honeywell International Inc.

The second suit accuses Honeywell of infringing the ’034, ’938, and ’298 Patents as well as U.S. Patent No. 8,860,058, entitled “Solid state white light emitter and display using same.”

Filed in the Western District of Wisconsin on October 28, 2014, the complaint alleges that Honeywell’s Automation and Control Systems and Aerospace business units are selling infringing products using Cree’s patent white LED technology for backlighting.

The accused products include liquid crystal display devices in Honeywell’s Aviation Lighting and Cockpit Displays, Environment & Combustion Controls, Scanning and Mobility devices, and Measurement and Control Systems as well as certain programmable thermostat products.

Smart Grid

Endeavor MeshTech, Inc. v. EnergyHub, Inc.

On October 14, 2014, Endeavor MeshTech (a wholly-owned subsidiary of patent monetization firm Endeavor IP) filed a patent infringement complaint against Brooklyn-based EnergyHub in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The complaint (Endeavor complaint part_1; Endeavor complaint part_2) accuses EnergyHub of infringing three patents in a family – U.S. Patent Nos. 7,379,981, 8,700,749, and 8,855,019, each entitled “Wireless communication enabled meter and network.” The patents-in-suit relate to a self-configuring wireless network including a number vnodes and VGATES.

According to the complaint, EnergyHub’s self-configuring wireless network marketed and sold under the name of its Mercury platform infringe the patents.

Concentrated Solar Power

Schott Solar CSP GmbH v. SkyFuel, Inc. et al.

Schott filed suit against SkyFuel and Weihai Golden Solar October 23, 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The complaint alleges infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,013,887 (’887 Patent) relating to solar absorption receivers used in certain concentrated solar power (CSP) applications.

Entitled “Absorber pipe for solar heating applications,” the ’887 Patent is directed to an absorber pipe having a central metal pipe, a sleeve tube, folding bellows, and an expansion compensation device that connects the metal pipe and sleeve tube so that they can slide relative to each other.

According to the complaint, the defendants sell infringing receivers and/or build and install CSP plants incorporating infringing receivers.

Solar Inverters

Enphase Energy, Inc. v. SolarBridge Technologies, Inc.

Inverter maker Enphase Energy sued SolarBridge, alleging infringement of three patents relating to solar inverter technology. The complaint was filed October 10, 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The asserted patents are U.S. Patent Nos. 7,768,155 and 8,035,257, both entitled “Method and apparatus for improved burst mode during power conversion” and U.S. Patent No. 7,986,122, entitled “Method and apparatus for power conversion with maximum power point tracking and burst mode capability.”

The patents relate to systems and methods for converting DC power generated by solar panels to AC power for the electric grid and includes methodology for storing energy and drawing energy during burst periods and controlling burst modes to improve efficiency in low sunlight conditions.

The accused products are SolarBridge’s Pantheon microinverter and TrueAC module.

Green Dry Cleaning Solvents

GreenEarth Cleaning, L.L.C. v. Glyndon Laundry, Inc. d/b/a Glyndon Lord Baltimore Cleaners

Filed September 22, 2014 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, GreenEarth’s complaint accuses Glyndon of, among other things, patent and trademark infringement.

GreenEarth alleges that Glyndon is infringing its “base” patent – U.S. Patent No. 5,942,007 (’007 Patent) – as well as nine other patents which are “variations” of the ’007 Patent. The ’007 Patent is entitled “Dry cleaning method and solvent” and directed to methods of dry cleaning clothes using a cleaning fluid including a cyclic siloxane composition.

GreenEarth also accuses Glyndon of infringing its trademarks including its leaf and water droplet logo:

According to the complaint, GreenEarth licensed its trademarks and patented processes to Glyndon, but Glyndon stopped paying the requisite fees after August 2013 and continued to use the licensed intellectual property.

Water Treatment

Deerpoint Group, Inc. v. Acqua Concepts, Inc. (DBA Ag Water Chemical of California)

Deerpoint, a provider of water treatment solutions for the agriculture industry, sued Acqua and two former Deerpoint employees in federal court in Fresno, California.

Filed September 25, 2014, the complaint accuses Acqua of infringing U.S. Patent Nos. 6,238,573 (’573 Patent) and 7,638,064 (’064 Patent) and alleges that its former employees misappropriated trade secrets including confidential products and services, client lists, and pricing information.

The ’573 Patent is entitled “Water treatment” and directed to a process for producing chlorine for water treatment including blending calcium hypochlorite and water to form a saturated solution of calcium hypochlorite and a sink of calcium hypochlorite and feeding chlorinated water to a water supply.

The ’064 Patent is verbosely titled “Continuously feeding chlorine to the irrigation system, monitoring an outer field point to determine whether at least a detectable level of residual chlorine is seen at that point, whereby chlorination disinfection system-wide is achieved.”

November 21, 2014 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Which is Better – Wind Energy or Concentrated Solar Power?

written by 2GreenEnergy

A reader asks for my viewpoint on wind energy and concentrated solar power (CSP). She writes: Hello! I have been doing a lot of research on CSP and wind power. I want to know your opinion on which is better and why. Thank you.

It’s hard to answer this question definitively in either direction, so let me present some pros and cons.

Wind is extremely inexpensive; we’re signing wind deals at $0.02/kWh. But:

It’s variable, and it’s available most when we need it the least (in the middle of the night). This means that we’ll eventually need energy storage if we’re going to integrate it much further into our grid mix (it’s currently a bit over 4%).

It takes up huge amounts of space, though farmers, i.e., growers of food animals and vegetables, can use most of their land in the way they always have.

Most people consider it ugly, and it’s a danger to birds and bats.

It’s often sited far from population centers, necessitating expensive, and unattractive transmission lines.

CSP, aka solar thermal (pictured above), on the other hand, is currently far more expensive. However, because the technology is nowhere near the same level of maturity as wind (or solar PV), it’s quite likely that the costs will come way down over time, if we don’t abandon it. CSP also faces many of the same problems discussed above: it’s variable, and it’s normally sited far from our cities. It also requires significant amounts of water, which are generally not available at the best sites for CSP , i.e., the deserts. But because the energy from CSP is heat, and heat energy can be stored far less expensively than electricity, CSP has an inherent advantage in that respect.

Another issue: wind lends itself to small and mid-sized projects and well as the utility scale wind farms we see around us; mid-sized wind can be used my schools, military bases, remote communities, etc. The same cannot be said for CSP, where plants, to be cost-effective, need to be large.

April 9, 2014 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Shams 1 Concentrated Solar Power Plant is a Learning Lab for Solar

written by Walter Wang

The complexity of a utility scale solar project can sometimes be daunting. Add to that a harsh natural environment and you have your work cut out for you. Nowhere is this more evident than at the Shams 1 concentrated solar power (CSP) plant outside of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Situated in a sometimes harsh desert climate in

January 18, 2014 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Solar Plays Key Role in India’s Energy Future, World Bank Says

written by Walter Wang

In a recent report, The World Bank said that solar power is one of the key elements of its Country Partnership Strategy with India. The organization said it will circulate the findings of the study to central and state governments to spread an understanding of the issues and analysis presented.

The Bank said in a statement that in just three years

December 23, 2013 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Concentrated Solar Power Investors in Spain Muy Agitado

written by Walter Wang

Here’s an article that tells a story that’s playing itself out all over the world – this time, in Spain: Fiery drama and fierce tensions caused by tightening budgets for energy.

Nowhere more than Spain, deficits need to be cut.

December 4, 2012 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Solar Thermal Deserves Our Support

written by Walter Wang

Here’s a good article on a recently completed solar thermal tower (aka concentrated solar power or CSP) in the desert between Las Vegas and Reno, NV.

The thing to like about solar thermal, as we’ve often discussed here, is that it affords us a fairly low-cost way of storing energy and delivering it when the sun

May 14, 2012 0 comment

Renewable Energy

New Solar Collector Heralds New Era in CSP

written by Walter Wang

Solar thermal energy technology has taken an important step further with a new collaboration between 3M’s Renewable Energy Division and Gossamer Space Frames. The companies yesterday unveiled a new parabolic trough solar collector technology designed to reduce costs and equipment for concentrated solar power systems. CSP is a solar system whereby

May 3, 2012 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Google Green Energy Program is Cut as Company Narrows Focus

written by Yale Environment 360

Google Inc. says it is abandoning its ambitious program to drive down the cost of renewable energy, one of seven major initiatives canceled by the Internet giant this week as it looks to focus on its core projects.

Launched four years ago through Google.org, the

November 25, 2011 2 comments

Renewable Energy

CSP Today Report Reveals True Cost Drivers of Parabolic Trough Systems

written by Walter Wang

While solar thermal plant costs are expected to “decline steadily as plants get bigger”, pinpointing how costs can otherwise be reduced remains a challenge, due to the presence of many variables.

CSP Today’s latest report, ‘CSP Parabolic Trough Report – Cost & Performance’, provides

September 21, 2011 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Italy’s Enel Green Power Planning Two Huge Solar Power Plants

written by Walter Wang

Italy is looking to get a solar energy boost from Enel Green Power, which just announced plans to construct two large concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. But Italy’s still got a ways to go to catch up with the CSP world leaders.

Solar thermal power plants have their supporters and

July 11, 2011 0 comment

Energy Efficiency

Gas Helps (Not Hurts) Renewables And 7 Other Reasons Gas Can Be Green

written by Walter Wang

Last week was a good one if you happen to own a natural gas well. Two reports on the outlook for natural gas, both in the U.S. and worldwide, gave a glowing assessment of the fuel’s future prospects. The International Energy Agency (IEA) cheekily titled its report, “Are We Entering a Golden Age of Gas?” The

June 13, 2011 1 comment

Renewable Energy

Ahura Energy: A Breakthrough in Solar Thermal

written by 2GreenEnergy

I just had a very interesting conversation on one of my favorite topics: solar thermal, or concentrated solar power (CSP). I came across Ahura Energy of Campbell, CA on the fantastic online resource OnGreen.com, and spoke with Dr. Fareed Sfard, the company’s CEO, who boasts over 20 years experience in the Solar industry.

February 22, 2011 0 comment

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