Comments on: Concentrating Solar Power Alliance Launched

By: San Diego Loves Green – World’s Largest Solar Power Towers To Rise In California

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:43:25 +0000

[…] Solar Electric Generating System is one fruit of the Concentrating Solar Power Alliance, which Abengoa and BrightSource launched last year along with Torresol Energy. The aim was to put […]

By: $109 Billion Increase for Solar in Saudi Arabia

$109 Billion Increase for Solar in Saudi Arabia — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:53:28 +0000

[…] majority of the 41,000 megawatts will likely be concentrated solar thermal power plants, which focus sunlight to very high temperatures in order to heat a fluid and then […]

By: Boondogle

Boondogle — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:46:00 +0000

Guys,

Don’t kid youselves, with a D.C. Address this is just another government funded lobbyist firm going after more government money. CSP is much more capital cost than PV and has hundreds of thousands of moving parts that will all breakdown so operating and maintenance costs will be high. Power generated from CSP plants will be 5x what Other sources will be. Can you say boondogle?

By: Dave2020

Dave2020 — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:38:00 +0000

“I don’t see them as competing as much as supplementing each other.”

Exactly so. CSP may be the better choice for Desertec, whereas PV makes more sense in Germany, simply on the basis of geography/insolation.

Battery storage is a natural for PV solar, IF supply and demand don’t happen to coincide. Low capital input and the decentralized nature of PV are major factors in its favour.

I see HAWTs and VAWTs supplementing each other. You simply select the most suitable technology for a given environment.

That’s why I was so surprised to read – “Nothing competes with the HAWTs we have.”

Floating offshore, VAWTs and decentralized storage are a good match. Dispatchability makes a major contribution to economy in a 100% renewable electricity world.