Concentrating Solar Power: Technology and Market Development

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Concentrating Solar PowerTechnology and Market
Development
Dr. Thomas R. Mancini Concentrating Solar
Power Program Manager Sandia National
Laboratories Sponsored by the Mechanical
Engineering Department and the Initiative for
Renewable Energy and the Environment February
7, 2007
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Outline of Presentation

• Overview of CSP technologies and markets
• Sandia National Laboratories
• CSP technologies and RD needs
• Magnitude of the SW Resource
• Cost of technology and where it can go
• Markets and government incentives
• Current projects in the U. S. and the world

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National Security

• Core Purpose to help our nation secure a
  peaceful and free world through technology.
• Highest Goal to become the laboratory that the
  United States turns to first for technology
  solutions to the most challenging problems that
  threaten peace and freedom for our nation and the
  globe.

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Five Mission Areas

• Nuclear weapons
• Nonproliferation andassessments
• Military technologiesand applications
• Homeland security
• Energy and infrastructure assurance

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Sandia Workforce
Over 8,500 employees Over 1,500 PhDs over 2,500
MS/MA Over 700 on-site contractors 2.3 billion
FY05 operating budget
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Energy-Related Activities

• Clean power for peace and prosperity

• Energy efficiency and renewables
• Water initiatives
• Nuclear power research
• Infrastructure protection
• Waste legacy
• Hydrogen research

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What are CSP technologies?
Concentrating Solar Power Solar Thermal
Electric Power

• Power Towers
• Trough Electric Systems
• Dish Stirling Systems

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SunLabs Role

• SunLab is a virtual laboratory
• The DOE CSP Programs at Sandia and NREL
• We work with industry to do RD on CSP components
  and systems
• Market Development Activities
• A resource and advisors to western governments,
  legislatures, regulatory commissions
• Consultants to contractors, developers
• Reality brokers on the status of technologies
  for investors and developers

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Sandias NSTTF
NATIONAL SOLAR THERMAL TEST FACILITY
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CSP Characteristics

• Distributed Power
• (kWs to MW's)
• on-grid (e.g., line support)
• stand-alone, off-grid

• Dispatchable Power
• (50s to 100s of MW's)
• Utility-scale intermediate power
• Peaking power in some applications

CPV
Troughs Towers
Dishes
Dispatchability of Electricity Through storage
or hybridization. Conventional technology
Generally, made of glass, steel, gears, turbines,
etc. allows rapid manufacturing scale-up, low
risk.
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The Value of Storage Dispatchable Power
Solar Resource
Load

• Storage/hybridization provide
• decoupling of energy collection and generation
• lower costs because storage is cheaper than
  incremental turbine costs
• higher value because power production can match
  utility needs

Generation w/ Storage
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Molten-Salt Power Tower
Power Tower or Central Receiver
Energy collection is uncoupled from power
production
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Solar Two Results
Molten-Salt Power tower technology was success-
fully demonstrated at Solar Two and all of the
test objectives were met.

• Receiver design validated
• Receiver ? 88
• ? of Storage gt 98
• Dispatchability demonstrated for gt 6 days
• 40MW (equivalent) Solar Tres plant prop. in Spain

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PS 10 Steam Cycle
Once-through steam boiler similar to Solar 1
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PS 10 Power Tower
PS 10 Plant Operational Fall 2006. Construction
started on first PS 20 Plant.
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Power Tower Components
Storage Tanks
Receiver
Heliostat
Steam Generator
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Current MS Power Tower Design

• For a 100 MW MS Power Tower Plant
• Collector Area 144,000 m2
• 13 hours of thermal storage
• Annual Solar-to-electric conversion 14
• Annual Capacity factor 75
• Field operating temperature 565 C
• Conventional Rankine steam turbine
• Water cooled

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SEGS Plants

• Solar Electric Generating Stations (SEGS) 354 MW
  
• Total annual average solar-to-electric efficiency
  at 12.
• Plants use conventional equipment and are
  hybridized for dispatchability (25)

Total reflective area gt 2.3 Mill. m2 More than
117,000 HCEs 30 MW increment based on regulated
power block size
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SEGS Deployment and Production
Solar Electric Generation Stations (SEGS)
Deployment and power production 1985 2002.
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More Than 18 Years of Reliable Operation

• Averaged 80 on-peak capacity factor from solar
• Over 100 with fossil backup
• Could approach 100 from solar with the addition
  of thermal energy storage.

Mount Pinatubo Volcano
CA Energy Crisis
SCE Summer On-Peak Weekdays Jun - Sep 12 noon -
6 pm
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Nevada Solar One

• 64 MW Capacity
• 357,200m² Solar Field
• 30 Minutes Thermal Storage
• Minimal Fossil fuel
• Long term PPA signed with Nevada Power
• EPC Notice to Proceed January 2006
• Startup April 2007

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Nevada Solar One Technical Characteristics

• Annual electricity production estimated to be 140
  - 150GWh

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1-MW Organic Rankine Cycle Plant at APS
APS Saguaro Solar Plant
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Trough Components
Trough Collector
Receiver
Drive
Controller
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Current Trough Design

• For a 100 MW Trough Plant
• E-W tracking collector, Area 724,000 m2
• No Storage, No hybrid operation
• Annual Solar-to-electric conversion 12
• Annual Capacity factor 29
• Field operating temperature 391 C
• Conventional Rankine steam turbine
• Water cooled

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CSP Dish Stirling Systems

• Technology Features
• High efficiency (Peak gt 30 net
  solar-to-electric)
• Annual Efficiency 22 25
• Modularity (10, 25kW)
• Autonomous operation
• High-Efficiency Stirling Engine

RD focus is on Reliability improvement, engineer
ing for mass production and cost reduction.
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Dish Stirling Components
Receiver
Engine/Generator
Dish
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Current Dish Stirling Design

• For a 100 MW Dish Stirling Plant
• Require 4,000 25-kW systems
• Modularity at single unit size
• Hybridization is possible (NG, H2, LFG, etc.)
• Annual Solar-to-electric conversion 24
• Annual Capacity factor 29 (solar only)
• Field operating temperature 750 C
• 25 kW Kinematic Stirling engine
• Closed-radiator cooling system

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RD Needs of CSP

• Materials
• Selective surfaces for external receivers in
  towers and dishes
• Optical materials that are cheaper than glass but
  still provide long life operation
• High-temperature materials for tower and dish
  receivers
• Thermal storage materials
• Working fluids for troughs and towers

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R D Needs of CSP

• Advanced Component Designs
• Cheaper solar concentrators (dishes, troughs,
  heliostats) -- without compromising current
  levels of performance
• More efficient receiver designs
• Advanced power cycles for all three technologies
  simpler, more efficient, more reliable, etc.
  (Brayton)
• Installation, operation and maintenance issues
  concentrator cleaning, concentrator alignment

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DNI Solar Resource in the Southwest
Screening Approach

• Filters applied
• Direct-normal solar resource.
• Sites gt 6.75 kwh/m2/day.
• Exclude environmentally sensitive lands, major
  urban areas, etc.
• Remove land with slope gt 1.
• Only contiguous areas gt 10 km2

Data and maps from the Renewable Resources Data
Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
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Unfiltered Data with Transmission Overlay
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Resources gt 6.75 kWh/m2/day
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Add Land Use Exclusions
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Add Slope lt 1
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CSP Deployment Potential
Bottom Line Almost 7,000 GW Available Resource
(Total U. S. Capacity is 950 GW)
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Project Costs

• Sometimes represented as /kW installed 3000
  to 4000 per kW
• Sometimes represented as the Levelized Cost of
  Energy (LEC) from a plant (includes financing,
  OM, profit, over the lifetime of the plant etc.)
• These are large power projects requiring 4 5
  years to develop and deploy.

• Financing terms
• Plant ownership
• Incentives

• Proximity to/capacity of substation
• Ownership/cost of land
• Capacity of power lines

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Cost of CSP

• Cost Reductions to Bridge the Gap
• Plant Size
• Deployment
• Financing
• RD

Current Technology Cost .11/kwh (real) .16/kwh
(nominal)
Cost Goals .05-.07/kwh (real) .08-.10/kwh
(nominal)
Source WGA Solar Task Force Summary Report
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CSP Reference Plant
Breakdown of LEC for 100 MWe Reference System

• Parabolic Trough Technology Proxy for CSP
• Current solar technology
• Rankine cycle plants
• 6-hours of thermal energy storage
• Finance Assumptions
• Based on IPP financing

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Cost of CSP Electricity
Effect of Plant Size
2006 Nexant Study Optimum Size 250MWe For
Current Technology
Parabolic Trough Plant, 6-hours Thermal Energy
Storage, IPP Financing, 10 ITC
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Cost of CSP Electricity
Effect of Incentives (IPP Financing)
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Effect of Deployment
Cost of CSP Electricity
Based on Experience from Existing Plants (354MWs
in California)
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Markets in the West

• The DOE Energy Information Agency predicts for
  the Western U. S. the addition of 86 GW of
  capacity over the next 20 years
• Most of this is expected to be met with the
  addition of coal and natural gas fired generation
• Western states have demonstrated interest in
  developing renewable resources
• In many ways, states are more proactive than the
  federal government in providing incentives for
  solar energy development

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Government Incentives for CSP

• Federal Incentive applicable to CSP
• Investment Tax Credit of 30 through end of 2008
  (working on an 8 10 year extension)
• Loan guarantee program
• State Incentives for CSP
• Renewable Portfolio Standards
• Solar set asides
• State production tax credits
• Property and sales tax relief
• Possible state loan guarantee programs

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CSP Development in Arizona
Potential Benefits to the State of Arizona

• IF Arizona builds 1 GW of the 4 GW WGA target
• --- and---
• the economic impact analysis for California is
  relevant for Arizona
• --- then ---
• 2 - 4 billion private investment in State
• 3,400 construction jobs 250 permanent solar
  plant jobs
• 0.5 billion increase in state tax revenues
• 5.8 billion increase in gross State output

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WGA Solar Task Force
In February 2005, the Western Governors
Associations (WGA) commissioned a number of Task
Forces to explore creation of 30 GW of clean
energy in WGA states. The Solar Task Force
presented a report to the Steering Committee on
December 8, 2005.

• The CSP recommendations of the Solar Task Force
  are
• 4 GW of CSP deployment are reasonable
• Extend the 30 Federal ITC
• Exempt sales and property taxes on solar power
  plants
• Allow longer-term Power Purchase Agreements
• Encourage State PUCs, utilities, and project
  developers to aggregate plant orders and project
  bids to accelerate CSP scale-up cost reductions

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Projects in SW U. S.

• 1 MW trough/ORC in Arizona (APS, Solargenix)
  operating
• 64 MW trough electric project in Nevada (Nevada
  Power, Solargenix) in construction, compl. April
  2007
• 500 MW (option to 850 MW) Dish Stirling plant in
  Southern California (SCE, SES). (Agr. signed Aug
  2005.)
• 300 MW (option to 900 MW) of Dish Stirling plants
  in Southern CA (SDGE, SES). (Agr. signed in Sep
  2005.)
• 250 MW SW Utility Consortium in planning
• Others rumored by not announced

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Projects Around the World

• Algeria Abener, 30 MW trough fuel saver 75M
  and it must provide 5 solar fraction annually.
• Egypt Bids for the 150 MW Kuraymat trough plant
  are due November 2006.
• South Africa ESKOM in Phase V of molten-salt
  power tower development currently performing an
  EIA.
• Israel SOLEL signed a contract for a 150 MW
  trough plant.
• Mexico Bids expected in December 2006 for the
  30 MW solar trough project at Agua Prieta in
  Sonora.
• Spain Estimates are that 2 GW or more of CSP
  plants are in the planning stages. SOLUCAR
  started operation of PS 10 power tower and
  construction of the 20 MW PS 20 the first of
  three 50 MW ANDASOL trough plants with 7.5 hours
  of molten-salt thermal storage is under
  construction.

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CSP Worldwide Deployment Plans
4.56 GW
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Summary

• The quality and quantity of solar resource in the
  SW U. S. is exceptional.
• LEC from CSP currently ranges from about 0.12 to
  0.16/kwh (depending on the size of solar plant,
  the solar resource, and mix of incentives, etc.).
• CSP resources are located near transmission and
  near to existing and growing loads.
• A window of opportunity is opening in the SW U.
  S. and around the world for the deployment of CSP
  systems.