Comments on: New Gas to Augment California PV – or 24-Hour Solar?

By: SB843 Lets California Utility Customers Share Solar Projects - CleanTechnica

SB843 Lets California Utility Customers Share Solar Projects - CleanTechnica — Sat, 19 May 2012 18:24:44 +0000

[…] To meet California’s 33 percent by 2020 mandate, the three utilities had so many offers that prices were driven down around the 9 cent a kilowatt hour mark for utility scale solar contracts – and if they were all accepted would have supplied […]

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Fri, 18 May 2012 03:58:00 +0000

If that’s what Georgis was talking about then would the idea be that the price of nuclear is going to rise in CA, making his product more profitable?

(This is not a burning question for me, just trying to learn a bit more….)

By: SolarReserve Interview: What is Night Solar Power Worth to California?

SolarReserve Interview: What is Night Solar Power Worth to California? — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:51:42 +0000

[…] Read more here… […]

By: Bill_Woods

Bill_Woods — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:41:00 +0000

“Californian regulators have adopted a policy requiring coastal power plants – including the state’s two nuclear power plants – to phase out the use of once-through cooling systems.”
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS-California_moves_to_ban_once_through_cooling-0605105.html

By: Susan Kraemer

Susan Kraemer — Thu, 17 May 2012 06:01:00 +0000

Will try to find out.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:10:00 +0000

I was wondering if it meant that utilities would end up not using the steam cycle of combined cycle gas plants.

Just use the turbine part as a peaker plant and forgo the steam cycle since the turbine wouldn’t be on long enough to get steam up and going.

I think it’s something like 15 minutes to get turbines up to full speed but four (?) hours to build up enough steam from the turbine waste heat.

By: Susan Kraemer

Susan Kraemer — Thu, 17 May 2012 04:54:00 +0000

But my suspicion is he is referring to the alternative to potential new gas peaker plants – old ones that will need to be retired – to be replaced by newer and more expensive environmentally superior ones, because he also said it is hard to compare prices per kwh to “gas” because there is a higher cost of new compliant peaker gas plants versus older ones already there.

By: Susan Kraemer

Susan Kraemer — Thu, 17 May 2012 04:49:00 +0000

I knew I should have asked! I do tend to interrupt constantly, and did let that one go – long interview…

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:50:00 +0000

“they are probably going to have to retire a lot of once-through cooling generation assets”

Can anyone explain what this means?