CSP Today - Technology

Golden opportunity to visit Shams 1 and Masdar City in May

Beatriz Gonzalez — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:50:16 +0000

Précis:

CSP Today, PV Insider and Masdar are pleased to announce that delegates at MENASOL 2012 (16-17 May, Abu Dhabi) will have the unique opportunity to visit the CSP plant Shams 1 & Masdar City’s 10MW PV Plant.

Shams 1 is being constructed in Madinat Zayed in the western region of Abu Dhabi. At 65 per cent completion, the plant is expected to go into commissioning towards the end of the year. With an operational capacity of 100MW, it will rank amongst the largest parabolic trough power stations in the world.

The station will consist of 258,048 parabolic trough mirrors, 192 solar collector assembly loops with 8 solar collector assemblies per loop, 768 solar collector assembly units, and 27,648 absorber pipes.

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Primary Event:

MENASOL 2012

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FG Emvelo, ABB power into South African CSP

Rikki Stancich — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:34:15 +0000

Précis:

Florian Fritsch, managing director of FG Emvelo and Pancho Ndebele, Chairman of SASTELA & CEO of Emvelo, talk about the proposed Emvelo-ABB-Novatec Solar projects, and South Africa’s CSP market potential.

Interview by Rikki Stancich

Earlier this month ABB and Novatec Solar signed an agreement with independent solar power developer FG Emvelo to build concentrating solar power (CSP) plants at Karoshoek Solar Valley in Northern Cape province, South Africa.

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Primary Event:

MENASOL 2012

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Novatec Solar's linear Fresnel technology may soon to be deployed in South Africa

Game-changing technologies: New era for CSP

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:47:17 +0000

Précis:

The concentrated solar power sector kicked off 2O12 by bringing several game-changing innovations online. David Craik gives an overview of the latest breakthrough concepts, and finds out what is in store for the remainder of the year.

In January, Torresol Energy began commercial operations of two 50 MW solar thermal power plants in Cadiz, Spain.

Valle 1 and 2 are parabolic trough plants equipped with thermal storage allowing them to continue producing energy for 7.5 hours at full power capacity without sunlight. Valle 2 is perhaps the most interesting plant as it boasts a SENER single tank molten salt storage system and its innovative trough collector SENERtrough2.

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Huiyin-Group secures first commercial orders

Beatriz Gonzalez — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:36:40 +0000

Précis:

For the first time, Huiyin-Group presents its new heat collecting elements to the market during the CSP Today conference in South Africa.

After rigorous testing in the well-know test laboratories in Europe, the Beijing based Huiyin-Group is launching its standard heat collecting elements (HCE) or vacuum tube to the CSP market.

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Webinar – CSP & PV market prospects in the MENA region

Belén Gallego — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:29:37 +0000

Précis:

CSP Today have released details of their hotly anticipated free webinar looking at the potential for CSP & PV technology to take off in the MENA regional markets, taking place Thursday 16th February.

The knock-on effects of the economic downturn are rippling across the more mature solar markets with shrinking government incentives, restricted access to capital, and the continuous increase in competition from abroad. Whilst established solar mainstays continue to suffer, support for solar energy across the MENA region is gathering pace. MENA solar could be next in line to fill the supply/demand gap that Europe can no longer meet, and many GCC countries have made clear commitments to increase the level of solar developments within their energy mix.

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Primary Event:

MENASOL 2012

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Flabeg takes part in CSP Today South Africa 2012

Beatriz Gonzalez — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:57:55 +0000

Précis:

With more than 40 years of experience in solar thermal power plant technology and a wealth of experience covering 130 years in glass refinement, FLABEG is the expert when it comes to mirrors for solar power plants.

FLABEG participates as exhibitor at the 1st CSP Today South Africa event in Johannesburg (7-8 February)

FLABEG has installed almost six million solar mirrors for CSP projects all over the world. Some of these mirrors have been in operation for 30 years, full evidence of the permanent performance and durability of FLABEG mirrors. With numerous projects in Spain, the USA, Egypt and Abu Dhabi and a total of 1.8 GW, FLABEG is now the international market leader for solar mirrors.

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China: Banking on renewable energy storage

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:19:21 +0000

Précis:

China’s State Grid Corporation has built the world’s biggest battery in a bid to manage its ageing grid infrastructure.

By Paul French in Shanghai

China recently announced the launch of its first commercial battery storage station for renewable energies - the world's largest to date.

The project, a joint venture between China's leading battery manufacturer BYD and the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), has completed construction of the utility-scale project, located in Zhangbei, in central China's Hebei Province.

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Primary Event:

CSP Today India 2012

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AORA: Hybrid ‘Tulip’ tower system to be switched on in Spain

Rikki Stancich — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:42:43 +0000

Précis:

Zev Rosenzweig, CEO of AORA Solar, walks CSP Today through the advantages of its commercially-ready Tulip tower module, to be launched in Spain next week.

By Rikki Stancich

Tulip, the invention of Israeli concentrated solar power technology developer AORA, is being readied for its official European launch next week next week.

A pilot novel modular tower power hybrid system, designed to run 24 hours a day, was installed in China back in 2006, with the commercial prototype launched in Israel's Arava desert in 2009.

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US thermal storage: Boosting CSP price performance

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:38:15 +0000

Précis:

Federal mandates and proven performance on output and price, ensure the next generation of US concentrated solar power plants will be designed with thermal storage.

By Dan McCue, US correspondent

BrightSource Energy’s decision to add solar energy storage to three of its agreements with Southern California Edison (SCE) will not only further the company’s drive to enhance its cost-competitiveness, but will help its utility partner fulfil new state mandates for the use of power from stored sources, industry insiders say.

And at least one analyst believes power towers with storage could actually be a lower cost alternative to PV technology by as early as 2016.

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Primary Event:

CSP Today USA 2012

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Artist's impression of Brightsource Energy CSP plant with a two-tank molten salt storage system

Torresol’s Valle 1 & 2: Single tank thermal storage deployed

Rikki Stancich — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:29:06 +0000

Précis:

Ignacio Larrea, SENER’s Valle 1 and Valle 2 Project Manager talks to CSP Today about the innovative storage and collector technology deployed at the Valle 1 and Valle 2 plants, commissioned this week in Spain.

Interview by Rikki Stancich

This week, Torresol Energy announced that its Valle 1 and Valle 2 plants - two identical 50 MW parabolic trough plants, located in Cadiz, in the South of Spain, have commenced commissioning.

The plants are equipped with thermal storage, which will allow them to continue to produce power for up to 7.5 hours in the absence of solar radiation. The Valle 2 plant will road test Sener’s single tank storage system, as well as its latest trough collector, the SENERtrough 2.

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Torresol Energy's Valle 2 plant demonstrates innovative storage and collector technologies.

What’s in store for CSP in 2012?

Beatriz Gonzalez — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:39:53 +0000

Précis:

The flurry of activity seen in the last 6 months demonstrates that CSP is a young but rapidly-evolving industry. In the second half of 2011 several plants were connected to the grid, new projects were announced and substantial projects were cancelled.

So, what´s in store for the CSP industry in 2012?

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Gemasolar to tower over New Delhi

Beatriz Gonzalez — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:52:27 +0000

Précis:

Torresol Energy will present the critical lessons learned from Gemasolar to the Indian CSP community

Torresol Energy paved the way for the development of a new generation of CSP technology, when the Gemasolar thermosolar project became the first commercial-scale plant in the world to apply central tower receiver and molten salt heat storage technology. The relevance of this plant lies in its technological uniqueness with up to 15 hours of thermal storage and operational temperatures above 500°C, that lead to Gemasolar becoming the first CSP plant to operate successfully for a full 24 hours.

Primary Event:

CSP Today India 2012

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Paving the way for ISCC: Fichtner Solar

Rikki Stancich — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:47:43 +0000

Précis:

CSP Today speaks to Georg Brakmann, Founder and Managing Director of Fichtner Solar, about the CSP engineering consultancy firm's role in bringing ISCC to North Africa and the Middle East.

Interview by Rikki Stancich

Even mushroom clouds have a silver lining, and in Chernobyl’s case, it was the revived interest in solar energy and the consequent transition of talent into the solar sector.

Georg Brakmann is one such example, when following the events at Chernobyl, he cut short a successful career in the nuclear sector and focused instead on promoting the large-scale application of solar energy. His vision in the early 1980’s was to supply Europe with solar energy from the Middle East and North Africa.

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Georg Brakmann, Founder and Managing Director of Fichtner Solar

Testing times: Is the tide turning for non-glass mirrors?

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:37:12 +0000

Précis:

Have stringent regulations on glass mirror content given alternative reflectors the edge?

By Francesca Boothby

When presenting to financiers and developers, are glass manufacturers still referencing the proven track record of first generation plants such as the Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) in California?

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Alternative concentrated solar reflectors are on a roll

MENASOL 2012

Beatriz Gonzalez — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:45:49 +0000

Event Date:

Wed, 2012-05-16 - Thu, 2012-05-17

Event URL:

http://www.csptoday.com/solar-conference/index.php

Event Location:

Abu Dhabi

Number of attendees:

300

Programme URL:

http://www.csptoday.com/solar-conference/conference-agenda.php

Brochure URL:

http://www.csptoday.com/solar-conference/conference-event-brochure.php

Speakers URL:

http://www.csptoday.com/solar-conference/conference-speakers.php

Event Organiser:

Max Crompton

Event Organiser E-mail:

max@csptoday.com

Précis:

Now in its 4th edition and expecting 300+ participants, this conference looks at both CSP and PV in the MENA region with high level participation from regional Government Ministries (and meetings available with them), global and local Developers and EPCs, and the entire value chain within the region

CSP Today USA 2012

Beatriz Gonzalez — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:40:42 +0000

Event Date:

Tue, 2012-06-26 - Wed, 2012-06-27

Event URL:

http://www.csptoday.com/usa/

Event Location:

Las Vegas, USA

Number of attendees:

700

Programme URL:

http://www.csptoday.com/usa/conference-agenda.php

Brochure URL:

http://www.csptoday.com/usa/conference-event-brochure.php

Speakers URL:

http://www.csptoday.com/usa/conference-speakers.php

Event Organiser:

Heidi Hafes

Event Organiser E-mail:

heidi@csptoday.com

Précis:

CSP's Strategy Planning Meeting: Take CSP’s case to the end user & drive the industry to competitiveness in 2012

Rioglass flexes to new mirror markets

Rikki Stancich — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:27:40 +0000

Précis:

CSP Today speaks to RioGlass Solar Inc.’s business development manager, Jordi Villanueva, and Josep Ubach, head of engineering, to learn more about the company’s new CSP product lines and its strategy for building a global presence.

Interview by Rikki Stancich

CSP Today: In 2011 Rioglass Solar opened a headquarters in Arizona. Which US projects are you currently supplying?

Jordi Villanueva: The Arizona facility is our third production unit. Currently we are supplying Abengoa’s Solana project and we will also supply mirrors for its Mojave Solar project.

CSP Today: Can you comment on how uncertainty surrounding US renewable energy policy is affecting suppliers like Rioglass Solar?

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Renovalia: dish Stirling OEM gains traction in Spain

Rikki Stancich — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:18:18 +0000

Précis:

CSP Today speaks to Renovalia Energy’s CEO, Jaime Galobart, about progress within its Spanish project portfolio and the outlook for its Stirling dish technology.

Interview by Rikki Stancich

CSP Today: Can you provide a brief overview of Renovalia's solar thermal Stirling dish technology?

Jaime Galobart: Renovalia Energy’s CSP-3000 Concentrating Solar Thermal system concentrates sunlight, using a proprietary dish parabola (impact resistant glass on a light-weight steel structure), onto a 3 kW free-piston Stirling engine to generate clean, emissions free electricity.

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Renovalia is forging ahead with its dish technology projects in Spain

Running on solar: When will CSP fill your petrol tank?

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:45:34 +0000

Précis:

A small group of researchers believes CSP could play a part in developing a new energy economy based on ammonia. Jason Deign reports.

By Jason Deign in Barcelona

What does oven cleaner have to do with CSP? The answer, according to a small but dedicated group of researchers, is that solar thermal power could be used to produce ammonia. And not just for cleaning fluid, but also as a replacement for fossil fuels around the world.

A 2008 report by Jeffrey Bartels and Michael Pate of Iowa State University (ISU) states: “The current use of oil as a primary energy source for transportation creates many challenges to overcome.

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Coming soon to a fuel pump near you?

HelioFocus: Dual-axis dish drives down cost and resource use

Rikki Stancich — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:38:30 +0000

Précis:

CSP Today catches up with Oren Gadot, CEO of HelioFocus, Eli Mandelberg, Executive VP, and BDM Moshe Sadeh, to learn about a high-temperature dual-axis dish solution that slashes operating costs and resource requirement, while boosting CSP operating efficiency.

Interview by Rikki Stancich

Founded in 2007, HelioFocus has developed a full system solution for generating solar power using air as the heat transfer fluid.

The company’s product comprises a unique volumetric receiver positioned at the focal point of a large parabolic dish, onto which concentrated sunlight is reflected. The receiver converts the sunlight into high temperature air, which can be used for a variety of applications.

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GE on CSP: In it for the long haul

Rikki Stancich — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:26:38 +0000

Précis:

GE Energy unveiled a handful of significant CSP partnerships and products in 2011, and the company sees it as a key cog the future of IRCC plants

By Bob Moser, Americas correspondent

GE Energy is a relatively new entrant in the CSP sphere as an equipment provider, but the major splash it made this year in the market shows that this global giant is gung-ho about CSP's long-term potential.

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Power efficiency: CSP hybrid, or standalone with storage?

Rikki Stancich — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:40:29 +0000

Précis:

Both hybrid and thermal energy storage plants are viable options today. But longer-term, what are the relative advantages of thermal energy storage vs. hybridization for concentrated solar power generation?

By Andrew Williams

Concentrated solar power has a major advantage over other renewable energy sources in that it is the only renewable energy that can provide dispatchable power. In other words, by integrating thermal storage into the plant design, a concentrated solar power (CSP) plant can generate energy day and night, with or without clear skies.

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Skyfuel: Blazing trails with blue sky thinking

Rikki Stancich — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:16:44 +0000

Précis:

CSP Today speaks to Skyfuel’s CTO Randy Gee about the company's latest product upgrade and why the company’s high-volume, outsourced manufacturing strategy guarantees success in emerging markets.

Interview by Rikki Stancich

The year 2011 will go down in Skyfuel’s annals as a memorable one. The company brokered supplier deals in several key emerging markets, it set the bar on product performance tests, and rounded off the year with a major product upgrade.

The company kicked off the year with a 12-month operations report from its installation at SEGs II. The results proved that the SkyTrough operates with a thermal efficiency of 0.737 at 350 °C, in keeping with forecasts established by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

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China is one of several key markets that Skyfuel has powered into this year

CSP Today India 2012

Beatriz Gonzalez — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:50:17 +0000

Event Date:

Wed, 2012-03-14 - Thu, 2012-03-15

Event URL:

http://www.csptoday.com/india/

Event Location:

New Delhi, India

Number of attendees:

300

Programme URL:

http://www.csptoday.com/india/agenda.php

Brochure URL:

http://www.csptoday.com/india/download-brochure.php

Speakers URL:

http://www.csptoday.com/india/speakers.php

Event Organiser:

Jack Ahearne

Event Organiser E-mail:

jack@csptoday.com

Précis:

Act now! Build a profitable CSP plant and create a viable business in India, on time & on budget

Aalborg CSP delivers the steam generator for the first 50MW CSP plant in India

Beatriz Gonzalez — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:07:11 +0000

Précis:

In cooperation with the Japanese trading company Sojitz, Aalborg CSP decided in spring 2011 to enter the Indian CSP market.

With Aalborg CSP's experience in designing and delivering large scale steam generators for the European market and Sojitz Corporation's unique knowledge of the trading industry, combined with their rich experience and great achievements within the Republic of India, the ambition is to become a key player in supplying steam generator solutions for CSP-plants in India.

The Godawari project

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Primary Event:

CSP Today India 2012

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Winners of the International CSP Today Awards 2011

Beatriz Gonzalez — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:12:14 +0000

Précis:

CSP Today is proud to announce the winners of the International CSP Today Awards 2011

Seville, 28^th November 2011

The winners of 2011 are:

CSP commercialized technology innovation 2011: Torresol Energy

Increased dispatchability solution 2011: SENER

Emerging markets achievement 2011: Abengoa

CSP Newcomer 2011: HelioFocus

CSP technology supplier 2011: Rioglass

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The US vs China WTO Situation

Beatriz Gonzalez — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:38:28 +0000

Précis:

Unsurprisingly the Chinese are coming back over the same issue and taking American subsidies to the WTO the same way that Americans took China over the very same thing a few weeks ago. The result is predictively that the whole industry will suffer.

According to the WTO subsidies are legal therefore the complain that the PV industry made was out of place. Now with China retaliating in what is obviously a political protectionist measure which they each want the WTO to ratify, the whole industry might suffer as a result. An eye for an eye, everybody blind.

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Unconventional gas: Tipping the odds against CSP

admin — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:51:06 +0000

Précis:

For all the talk of how the US concentrated solar power market has been suffering at the hands of cheaper photovoltaics, many US based energy analysts say one of the biggest challenges CSP, and indeed all renewables will face in coming years, will come from the natural gas sector.

By Dan McCue, US correspondent

“Natural gas is crushing, literally crushing, alternative sources of energy,” says one long time watcher of the oil and gas sector. Many of his colleagues, if less colorful, certainly agree.

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Old ID:

1598

CSP Parabolic Trough Report: Cost & Performance

Beatriz Gonzalez — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:42:36 +0000

Teaser / Précis:

Invaluable cost information to assess the financial viability of your Parabolic Trough CSP investments

External URL:

http://www.csptoday.com/parabolictrough/index.shtml

CSP Markets Report - New Edition (2011-2012)

Beatriz Gonzalez — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:41:43 +0000

Teaser / Précis:

Identify and define the real opportunities in worldwide CSP markets

External URL:

http://www.csptoday.com/csp-markets-report/