One of the key assumptions in determining the cost of electricity from a power plant is how long that power plant will be operational. Almost universally, that estimate is too low. But I think this “mistake” is particularly strong when it comes to solar power — both solar photovoltaics (PV) … [continued]
A couple of big solar records were set in Q1 2013 in the US. For one, 49% of all new US electricity generation capacity came form solar, the most ever for a first quarter. Secondly, 723 MW of solar power capacity were installed and put online, again a Q1 record for … [continued]
Herman Trabish of Greentech Media has happened across a pretty interesting find — 97% of new electricity generation capacity in line to be added to the California grid in the second half (2H) of 2012 is from solar power projects. This is according to the California Independent System Operator (the ISO), as … [continued]
The 160 MW concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Ouarzazate, Morocco, began on Friday with a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony by King Mohammed VI. The parabolic trough CSP independent power project is being built by a consortium led by ACWA Power and including Acciona, Sener and TSK. The contract was awarded to the … [continued]
This article was originally published on Future360.tv. By Sarah Backhouse Future360.tv spoke with John Woolard, CEO of BrightSource Energy, to learn about the Ivanpah solar power facility in the Mojave Desert. The plant will be coming online this summer and will provide energy for 140,000 homes. Ivanpah will generate 392 … [continued]
This post first appeared on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory website. CSP with thermal energy storage boosts California electric grid Researchers from the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have quantified the significant value that concentrating solar power (CSP) plants can add to an electric grid. The NREL … [continued]
New research out of the UK finds that CSP isn’t dead after all… it has quite a promising future in small-scale applications in developing countries. “The new research for the DECC investigates the potential to accelerate the deployment of small-scale concentrated solar power (CSP) in various developing countries, with a … [continued]
Reposted from Solar Love: Another CSP plant bites the dust (well, it’s indefinitely shelved). This could mark a major blow to projections for US solar power installations if it never gets back on track (or is delayed for a long time), but anyone who follows this space should know that … [continued]
The world’s largest concentrating solar power (CSP) plant was launched today, an announcement I received on email a few minutes ago tells me. As regular CleanTechnica readers will remember, we’ve covered this 100 MW CSP Plant — Shams 1 — a few times, and Marika Krakowiak and I even got … [continued]
Stop me if you’ve heard this before – renewable energy technologies face global challenges from fossil fuels and a lack of public subsidies, but new financing mechanisms and government mandates may be key to their continued growth.
What’s different now, according to Ernst & Young’s (E&Y) latest “Renewable energy country attractiveness indices,” is how shale gas development and crashing public financing are changing the way renewable energy is funded across the globe…
