Siting Issues for Solar Thermal Power Plants with Small Community Applications

Technologies for solar thermal plants are being developed to provide energy alternatives for the future. Implementation of these plants requires consideration of siting issues as well as power system technology. While many conventional siting considerations are applicable, there is also a set of unique siting issues for solar thermal plants. Early experimental plants will have special siting considerations. The siting issues associated with small, dispersed solar thermal power plants in the 1 to 10 MWe power range for utility/small community applications are considered. Some specific requirements refer to the first 1 MWe engineering experiment for the Small Power Systems Applications (SPSA) Project. The siting issues themselves are discussed in three categories: (1) system resource requirements, (2) environmental effects on the system, and (3) potential impact of the plant on the environment. Within these categories, specific issues are discussed in a qualitative manner. Examples of limiting factors for some issues are taken from studies of other solar systems

Positive balancing service by solar virtual power plants

During the past years, a large amount of photovoltaic (PV) capacity has been installed in Belgium. The main driver for this was the abundant government support (GreenPower Certicates). However, during the last few years, the support for new installations has been withdrawn and new PV capacity ceased. In previous research, it has been proven that selling PV energy of existing plants directly on the wholesale market is not feasible due to the large share of green power certicates awarded to these plants. However, the price of green power certicates has dropped signicantly and hence the balance between certicate and commodity revenue is restored. This paper investigates the possibility of providing positive balancing services to the transmission system operator by aggregating solar power in a technical Virtual Power Plant. The paper concludes that it seems not interesting, neither economically nor energetically, to keep solar plants solely for positive balancing purposes. Combination of solar power with other sources or consumers can however be profitable, as solar power is quickly switched in case it is needed to react fast

Concentrating Solar Power: Focusing the Sun's Energy with Mirrors to Produce Electricity

Key facts: - Concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies use mirrors to focus the sun's heat. This heat is used to boil water, and the resulting steam turns a turbine to generate electricity. - Concentrating solar power plants provide the lowest cost power of any solar technology. They can produce electricity for $0.09 to$0.12 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), which can be competitive with peak power prices. - About 500 megawatts (MW) of concentrating solar power capacity will be installed worldwide by the end of 2005, according to the US Department of Energy. The world's largest solar facility, a 345 MW CSP trough system, has been operating in the Mojave Desert in California since 1984. The United States has enormous solar energy potential. For example, a 100 mile by 100 mile plot of land in Nevada, fitted with CSP trough systems, could provide enough electricity for the entire United States, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Control of a Solar Energy Systems

8th IFAC Symposium on Advanced Control of Chemical ProcessesThe International Federation of Automatic Control Singapore, July 10-13This work deals with the main control problems found in solar power systems and the solutions proposed in literature. The paper first describes the main solar power technologies, its development status and then describes the main challenges encountered when controlling solar power systems. While in other power generating processes, the main source of energy can be manipulated, in solar energy systems, the main source of power which is solar radiation cannot be manipulated and furthermore it changes in a seasonal and on a daily base acting as a disturbance when considering it from a control point of view. Solar plants have all the characteristics needed for using industrial electronics and advanced control strategies able to cope with changing dynamics, nonlinearities and uncertainties.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PI2008-05818Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación DPI2010-21589-C05-01/04Junta de Andalucía P07-TEP-0272

Is more investment needed in Solar & Biogas Energy Sources in Rwanda?

The Rwanda Third National Communication Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change mentions that Green House Gas (GHG) emissions per capita increased from 532.39kg (2006) to 676.23kg (2015) with an annual increase of 2.46%. As of 2015, the dominant emissions are from agriculture (70.4%) followed by energy (20.11%). Urea application in agriculture have increased from 1,246,400 to 2,559,000 tons of CO2 eq. Charcoal or wood being the primary source for cooking; emissions from domestic energy use has increased from 626,800 to 741,400 tons of CO2 eq. If such trends continue severe health issues, deforestation, soil erosion and droughts will be the heavy price Rwanda will have to pay. However, an investment in solar and biogas energy sources can be a solution in mitigating the afore-mentioned problems. In the developing world, Texas, USA is ranked by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) as the seventh in USA for cumulative solar capacity as of 2017. SEIA reports that Texas has 532 solar companies including 100 manufacturers. Additionally, around 210,000 Texas homes use solar power due to improved business models, distribution channels, service provider networks and low costs. Moreover, customers of solar systems can claim a 30% tax credit due to a federal government investment tax. The cost of solar is estimated at an average of $0.12/Kwh or 110RWF/Kwh while costs range from 89 – 189 RWF/Kwh (for residential customers) and from 189 – 192 RWF/Kwh (for non-residential customers) in Rwanda. According to Clean Energy Wire, Germany has 8,900 biogas power stations and 183 biomethane plants as of 2015. The biomethane plants feed pure methane into natural gas network to be used as a cooking fuel. The biogas technology also provides a liquid fertilizer which can directly be applied to agricultural fields or home gardens. Biogas power stations and biomethane plants have helped Germany avoid 156.1 million tons of CO2 eq. in 2015. However, Germany deploys heavy investments (e.g.: 15 billion euros in 2015) in renewable energy systems including biogas power stations and biomethane plants. In Rwanda, the National Domestic Biogas Programme (NDBP) has made tremendous efforts in disseminating biogas plants to interested citizens since 2009. To this day, some biogas plants are still operational and others are not due to construction flaws, lack of feedstocks and skilled labor to operate the biogas plants. The failure of some biogas systems doesn’t imply that the biogas technology is not feasible in Rwanda but better policies and better technologies are needed to improve this sector. According to Amy Yee, New York Times Journalist, the cost of biogas plants ($450 to $900) are significantly high for poor families in Rwanda with an average income of$70/month. However, the government of Rwanda is providing great incentives for all parties investing in renewable energies. As of 2019, the government has exempted import taxes of 23% and 18% value added tax paid by customers for all renewable energies. Therefore, it is safe to say that investments in renewable energies such as biogas and solar is worth it. Solar and biogas energy resources have the potential of creating jobs and providing a means of fighting deforestation, soil erosion, droughts and severe health issues. As Rwanda strives to be one of the most pristine places in the worldwide, an investment in solar and biogas is worthwhile

Financial Risks of Investments in Coal

Analyzes the regulatory, commodity, and construction risks of investing in coal mining and coal-fired power plants. Examines industry analysts' consensus on viable alternatives to coal, including natural gas, solar, wind, and energy efficiency

The economic value of storage in renewable power systems - the case of thermal energy storage in concentrating solar plants

In this article we analyze the value of thermal energy storages in concentrated solar plants depending on the electricity generation mix. To determine the value from a system integrated view we model the whole electricty generation market of the Iberian Peninsula. Key findings for thermal energy storage units in concentrated solar plants include an increasing value in electricity systems with higher shares of fluctuating renewable generation and a potentially significant role in a transformation to a primarily renewable based electricity system. Due to the relatively high investment costs concentrated solar power plants with or without thermal energy storages are not cost efficient in todays electricity markets. However, expected cost reductions due to learning curve effects and higher fluctuating renewable generation may lead to a comparative cost advantage of concentrated solar power plants with thermal energy storages compared to other renewable technologies.Fluctuating renewables; value of storage; concentrated solar power; power plant optimization

Three-dimensional tracking solar energy concentrator and method for making same

A three dimensional tracking solar energy concentrator, consisting of a stretched aluminized polymeric membrane supported by a hoop, was presented. The system is sturdy enough to withstand expected windage forces and precipitation. It can provide the high temperature output needed by central station power plants for power production in the multi-megawatt range