CSP Today

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has associated itself with two projects to test adding solar thermal energy to natural gas and coal-fired power plants.

Abengoa has chosen Tekniker-IK4 for the "greater part" of the R+D of its main solar energy project.

Ausra had been planning to raise billions of dollars to build utility-scale solar plants in the US and had set its sights on becoming the biggest independent power producer in the US. But those plans have had to be rethought, according to Bob Fishman, chief executive of Ausra.

The issue of intermittent supply in solar energy has been reportedly solved by an Australian company Solar24 Inc., which has developed a solar thermal system that holds heat for 14 hours.

According to Don Looper, this development is quite big.

WorldWater & Solar Technologies Corp. now has all of the necessary resources to complete its existing flat-plate projects, all of which should be substantially finished by late this year or early 2009.

SEIA expects the new Administration and Congress to support solar

The US House of Representatives recently passed the revised Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which contains measures to extend the solar investment tax credit (ITC) by eight years.

There are indications that Barack Obama will provide a boost to the domestic renewable energy space, including support for the US solar market.

Southern Energy Management (SEM) has broken ground on a commercial solar thermal system that will generate hot water for an employee cafeteria at SAS.

Dr Barrie Pittock, a lead author with the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and former head of CSIRO's climate impact group, has underlined the potential of deserts in generation of renewable energy to power Australia.

In a recent visit to Maui in Hawaii, Abengoa Solar Inc. chief operating oficer Scott Frier mentioned that an ideal site for a 50-MW solar power plant would be a 250-acre (five acres for every megawatt) stretch of land between Kaupo and 'Ulapalakua, a veritable "hot spot" that would maximise the output of solar power.