Concentrating Solar Power- Alternative Energy -part of the Electric Power Solution

Central Station solar power is not a new concept. California has had 354 megawatts on line for 15 years. Remember we call any big power generation facility designed to make power and transmit it to load centers as "central station power generation". The other style of power generation is referred to as "distributed power generation". This can be individual home or business systems, or larger community systems that are "distributed" to meet the local load or need.

Central Station Solar power typically uses the intense thermal heat from the sun to make steam and then uses conventional steam generation equipment similar to fossil fuel systems to actually make the electricity. So, the equipment is different than just hooking up millions of photovoltaic solar panels. This does not mean that the land requirements for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) are small.

The EPA estimates the following CSP capacity potential from the four sunniest states in the nation along with the corresponding land area in square miles that would be needed to meet that CSP generation capacity.
State
Megawatts
Square Miles Needed
Arizona- 1,652,000 MW - 12,790 Square Miles
California - 742,305 MW - 5,750 Square Miles
Nevada - 619,410 MW - 9,157 Square Miles
New Mexico -1,119,000 MW - 9,157 Square Miles

For comparison, note that the State of Maryland has 12,407 sq. miles; New Hampshire 9,351 sq. miles; and, Connecticut 5,544 sq. miles.
While the cost of this technology continues to fall, using this source of power would triple your electric bill. "Current Costs can be as low as 8 cents /kWh but new 50-100 MW [facilities] will probably be closer to 12-14 cents/kWh"(Central Station Solar Electricity, Concentrating Solar Power by Dr. Frederick Morse, Chairman Solar Thermal Power Division, Solar Energy Industries Association, http://www.epa.gov/cleanrgy/pdf/morse-dec6.pdf)


Wholesale power costs nationwide continue to be in the 3 -7 cents per kilowatt hour range and are generally about 50 to 70 percent of the retail cost that consumers pay at the meter.
So, in spite of the clamor for free power from the sun and safe clean energy to power our homes and businesses. The line of people saying, " sign me up" has been short so far.

This then explains part of the reluctance of your electric utility to get into CSP in a big way. The other hang up is the fact that power production goes down with the sun. With large population centers distant from the four main sunny states, the potential of CSP to deliver power where it is needed is also limited.

Electric Utilities not only live to keep the lights on, they also believe that part of their mission is to provide consumers with the least cost electricity at the meter. As long as consumers do not perceive higher value in renewable energy’s higher costs, utility executives will continue to look to King Coal and other lower cost fuels to keep the lights on at your house.

As costs for this option come down and costs for the fossil fuel options rise you will see more of this in the generation portfolio. Tripling the cost of your electricity may look better than Global Warming, green house gas production and air quality degradation, but it will be awhile before wide support for this alternative will make a difference.

You can find more information about CSP and alternative energy at the following at the following web sites:
http://www.solarelectricpower.org/index.php?page=
http://www.epa.gov/cleanrgy/pdf/morse-dec6.pdf
http://www.dsireusa.org/
http://www.energytaxincentives.org

A more optimistic view of CSP can be found at the Energy Blog http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2005/09/overview_of_con.html