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BrightSource solar array

First Solar announced yesterday that it and the Chinese government had agreed upon a memorandum of understanding that, if a few more bridges are crossed, will result in a 2 gigawatt solar power plant in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, China.

That’s a huge plant. A story in today’s Wall Street Journal reports that it will be a 25-square-miles array.

This will be a 10-year, multiphase project beginning with a 30 megawatt demonstration project that is planned to get underway in June 2010. According to the company’s news release, phases 2, 3 and 4 will be 100 megawatts, 870 megawatts and 1,000 megawatts, respectively. Phases 2 and 3 will be completed in 2014 and phase 4 will be completed by 2019.

“This major commitment to solar power is a direct result of the progressive energy policies being adopted in China to create a sustainable, long-term market for solar and a low carbon future for China,” says First Solar CEO Mike Ahearn.

After building the plant, First Solar plans to sell it to yet-to-be-determined Chinese business. The value of such a power producer depends on the value of the hardware and, more importantly, the value of future revenue streams.

The latter, however, is uncertain at this time. China is expected to eventually enact a feed-in-tariff. Typically, feed-in-tariffs establish a guaranteed premium that will be paid for renewable energy, but the size of the tariff is currently under debate. Once it is set, it will provide a way of calculating the value of the electricity produced by the power plant over a long-term period.

“The Chinese feed-in tariff will be critical to this project,” Ahearn said yesterday. “This type of forward-looking government policy is necessary to create a strong solar market and facilitate the construction of a project of this size, which in turn continues to drive the cost of solar electricity closer to ‘grid parity’ – where it is competitive with traditional energy sources.”

The project still has a few more bureaucratic hurdles to cross, but according to the WSJ, it will be just one part of an enormous (12 gigawatt) renewable energy development zone in that area of Mongolia. The plan is to include wind, solar, biomass and hydroelectric energy sources.

Information, although sketchier, on two other mega solar projects has also just surfaced. The Clinton Climate Initiative has apparently just reached an agreement on an MOU to build a 3 gigawatt solar farm in the State of Gujarat in India:

Officials said the solar park will be developed on the non-cultivable wastelands available in Banaskantha and Kutch districts.

In an official press release, the government said that at present, about 34 internationally acclaimed companies are participating with the state government to develop solar projects in Gujarat.

The WSJ reports that CCI is also in talks for a second similarly size facility in Rajasthan.

Finally, a number of sources have just reported that Brightsource has signed contracts to supply more than 2,600 megawatts of solar electricity to Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison. BrightSource is expected to set up as many as 14 concentrating solar power plants to deliver on this energy goal. Construction is expected to get underway in 2010. More on Brightsource’s California goals can be read in this recent CTT post.

Credit: National Renewable Energy Lab

A new report released by the World Resources Institute claims that an enormous solar energy resource remains largely untapped in the Southwest U.S. That’s hardly news. But interestingly enough, the WRI offers Congress ways to tap into this abundant resource.

It should be noted that WRI’s report focuses, without explanation, solely on one form of concentrating solar power: concentrating solar thermal. It’s unclear if WRI believes CST to be superior to other forms of CSP. Most of the institute’s recommendations and commentary could apply to CSP approaches, but, for the record, they refer only to CST. Here is WRI’s honey-do list for Congress:

• Enact a price on carbon. CST currently is more expensive than coal and other fossil fuel sources. Because CST is a low-carbon technology, enacting a carbon price would help the technology compete with conventional sources. Cap-and-trade is one mechanism for developing a carbon price.
• Fund RD&D. Research, development and demonstration support will facilitate cost reductions of materials and systems, including thermal energy storage, which can bring down costs to make CST competitive with conventional sources of baseload power.
• Create a national Renewable Energy Standard. Currently, some states with RES have a solar “carve out,” or a percentage set aside that must come specifically from solar. These policies have accelerated deployment of CST in those states and increased utility confidence in the technology. A national RES, including a mandate for solar, would send a market signal to invest in renewables such as CST.
• Push for CST in international technology partnerships. China, India and countries in the Middle East and North Africa have great potential for CST. As a promising option to reduce green house gas emissions and improve energy security, CST should be a priority in international collaboration on RD&D issues. For instance, the World Bank’s Clean Technology Fund includes a program dedicated to deploying concentrating solar thermal power.
• Improve the grid and transmission system. Greater federal oversight of the electricity grid and/or improved coordination between grid operators will help bring CST power from the country’s prime CST areas, the Southwest to a broader area.
• Consider alternative investment incentives. While tax credits are important, they are subject to periodic and uncertain renewal, which presents a challenge to investors. Moreover, in the current economy, tax-based incentives may not be as accessible to project developers as they have been in the past. Incentives such as feed-in tariffs, widely used in Europe, require utilities to pay renewable energy generators a fixed, above-wholesale price for the power they produce. Thus, feed-in tariffs directly raise the price paid for renewable generation and guarantees it a buyer over a period of time – a more stable signal to investors.

Sounds easy enough. Get on it, Congress.

Schott's Chairman Udo Ungeheuer (right), Gov. Bill Richardson (second from right) and other state and company officials autograph the first CSP unit.

Schott Solar this week cut the ribbon on new $100 million facility in Albuquerque to produce large-scale concentrated solar power receivers and PV units. Schott, which also has production facilities in Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain, says the 200,000 square-foot plant will provide at least 350 jobs, and is being described as only the first phase of the company’s plan. Schott has another PV facility in Billerica, Mass.

The plant was designed to facilitate anticipated future growth. In subsequent phases, Schott says the buildings can expand to 800,000 square feet and ultimately employ 1,500 workers.

The new production plant has annual capacity of 85 MW of 225-watt polycrystalline PV modules. These units will be sold under Schott Solar Poly 225 brand and marketing is targeted at commercial buildings and schools. Schott will also run two production lines for manufacturing parabolic trough, utility-scale CSP units. Combined, these two lines have an annual CSP capacity of 400 MW.

Schott CSP technology is based on heat-exchange system. A heat transfer fluid resides in steel absorber tubes encased in evacuated glass tubes. The tubes are positioned at the focal point of the mirrors. The fluid moves through a heat exchanger/boiler apparatus, creating steam used to drive a turbine generator.

Schott and at least one state official linked the plant opening to increased investments in renewable energy sources contained within the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment act. “This facility is proof that smart policy can create jobs and spur investment,” said New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. “SCHOTT Solar has recognized the vast potential that exists for solar energy in the United States and especially New Mexico.”

Adding . . . where is a news broadcast about the opening:

A new solar industry organization publication reports that total solar capacity (electric power plus water, pool and space heating) in the United States grew by 1,265 megawatts in 2008, an increase of 16 percent to a total capacity 9,183 MW.

The Solar Energy Industry Association’s Year in Review also notes that even though no new concentrating solar power plants were completed in 2008, the pipeline contains CSP projects totaling more than 6,000 MW and most already have purchase power subscriptions.

Here are some additional metrics from the SEIA’s report about what occurred in 2008:

• 342 MW of PV capacity was added
• Grid-tied PV capacity, 292 MW, increased 58 percent, a record jump.
• Solar water heating capacity increased 40 percent, also a record amount.
• PV manufacturing stood at about 685 MW per year at the end of the year, an increased of 65 percent.

Solar pool heating capacity grew at a slower rate than in 2007, reflecting conditions in the residential real estate market.

The amount of solar capacity varies widely by region and state. California led the pack, installing 178.6 MW of grid-tied PV power. The south and west regions generally dominate, with the largest PV system, at 10 MW, installed in Boulder City, Nev.

Grid-tied PV capacity in U.S. states (Source: Larry Sherwood, IREC)

Although the jumps in solar usage are a positive sign, this doesn’t mean that everything is relatively rosy in the solar industry. In an SEIA poll - taken before the Obama administration’s and Congress’ American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed - 86 percent of companies reported some kind of negative impact as a result of the poor economy. Of the employees represented in the survey, 31 percent worked at companies that had already downsized or were expecting to downsize.

Regarding solar thermal applications, SEIA reports the following breakdown: 139 thermal megawatts of solar water heating, 762 MWTh of pool heating and 21 MWTh of solar space heating and cooling.

Meanwhile, domestic PV manufacturing capacity increased by 65 percent, and preliminary estimates peg the total U.S. PV manufacturing capacity at 685 MW per year as of the end of 2008.

Although the added 342 MW of PV power represents good growth, it’s only a fraction of the growth in world leaders such as Spain and Germany, which added 2,460 MW and 1,860 MW, respectively.