nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Baseload solar energy is here

The dawn of baseload solar energy, 6 Jul 2011, Climate Spectator, Giles ParkinsonSolar energy and baseload power are not usually two words that detractors of renewable energy allow to be included in the same phrase, unless it is accompanied by the word “not.” From now on though, they may become indelibly linked.

Last week, Gemasolar, a 19MW solar tower plant located near Seville in southern Spain, delivered electricity continuously over a 24-hour period to the grid.

It is the first time that a commercial-scale solar power plant has been capable of generating electricity through the day and the night, and it has come less than a month since the plant, equipped with molten salt storage facilities that can provide power for 15 hours without the sun, began commercial production.

It’s happened well ahead of expectations and the plant operators – a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi-based clean energy initiative Masdar and Spanish engineering group SENER – were hopeful that it could average 20 hours of energy generation a day by the end of this week.

Gemasolar uses solar tower technology which can deliver high temperatures, making the storage more efficient and therefore cheaper. Eventually, the plant is expected to supply 24 hours of uninterrupted production per day on most summer days, and be able to deliver higher annual capacity factors than most nuclear power plants and approach that of coal.

It promises to be a game changer for the industry. But solar, is not quite ready to declare its independence from fossil fuels just yet, as there is a steep cost curve to fall, and some technologies will rely on hybrid plants that use gas to “firm” supply rather than storage….
http://www.climatespectator.com.au/commentary/dawn-baseload-solar-energy

July 6, 2011 - Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable

No comments yet.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

« Previous | Next »