DISQUS

Peter Antypas · 9 months ago

“Instead of one 600-megawatt project, we’ll do twelve 50-megawatt projects.”

How about 1,000 600KW projects, 10,000 60KW projects or 100,000 6KW projects? Bottom-up thinking is what we need to kick the coal habit. Make small kits, sell them to individual tinkerers, crowdsource the innovation ...

Ian · 9 months ago

A classic example of using equity to finance what debt should have. They should have their pants pulled down by the market - they didn't have any crazy technology, perhaps maybe their thermal storage stuff, but mum's the word on that from what I can tell.

Nick the Greek Socrates · 9 months ago

We knew of the inevitable at end of 2006. (Same inevitable that occurred in 1991, thereafter SEGS-IX, the last for a decade and half).
Nevada’s solar and that 5MWe could also be the last of the IPPs, construed as the conclusive event of 2008 and the final for this millennium, the FPL’s 2010 event; the end of all.
Indubitably due to:
1.Siting of solar farms, whether on BLM’s administered land, or on a privately owned, that turned-out to be a “Grande Fiasco”.
2.IOUs quest to develop-own-operate, right after the solar boys gets permitting, was already evident by their Renewables RFO’s platform.
3.Unless, the Private Equity Firms demand return of their initial rounds from those several solar boys, having no other alternatives, but to go trough the FSAs, the IOUs have to take over the conclusion of the permitting. (Possible, just about break-even, at best, if the solar boys obtain the permitting and EXIT; for good).
4.Thereafter, most likely by 2010, the RPS may be trashed-out and the IOUs can continue their status quo; business as usual.
5.In lieu thereof funding pilot projects, based upon several viable disruptive technology by the in-the-box out of their garages solar boys, the Rulers of the Status Quo blow it out to the Universities, the Labs, bunch of “Proclaimed Socrates” and not limited to those non-profits 501(c)(3)??? ESQs, being some of the reasons for today’s commenced exiting with irreparable harm. (It is also believed, that Nostradamus may had some scripts about the Environs-for-profit (50…..0000(nothing) and their respective Intervenors ESQs, predicting that they have to look elsewhere for-profits in 2010, the beginning of the “Great California Blackouts”)
6.It is also believed, that there were certain scripts by Nostradamus, mentioning about the “Science Revolution of 2010”, which included today’s RPS and short lived tech’s modeling, which are to be just on paper, like his scripts, not limited to Governmental Agencies consolidation, which can not foster the implementation of the Science Revolution, due to outcome of the predicted then final 2010 financial crash.
7.The Stimulus Plan will not prolong the inevitable exiting of Renewable and Alternative energy’s IPPs; long gone by 2010 (Read the small print, as well as in-between), unless the Obama’s Administration, Legislature, Congress and the House, not limited to the DOE’s Dr. Chu presiding, come-up with a drastic changes in the Bill, fostering comfort zone (Near-zero Risk Factor) to those major Fund of Funds/Hedge Funds and some of the SRI’s bailed-out Wall Streeters, for the real rounds; construction of Renewable/Alternative energy’s electric power generating facilities.
8.The Era of the Hybrids. To alleviate black-outs in California (identical to the 2001, if not more severe, ask CA ISO for 2010 Modeling ) and other Western States, the IOUs will be scrambling for these 50MWe Peakers, particularly if the RPS is to remain, instead of trashed-out, praying for the “150MWe Super Peakers”, consisting of about 20% of total nameplate worth of Renewables, integrated with at least 40% recovered energy, in synergy with the residual 40% by the old mighty natural gas-fired.

Adios Solares Muchachos.
May be, may be not, we see you in Baja California, Mexico. No solar-thermal there.
No Renewables, nor CSP’s solar-thermal, nor Fresnel,’s factory, nor Power Towers, nor PV/CPV there either. Just Super Hybrid Complexes (diesel-fired with seawater desals and with plenty of red tomatoes in the Super Greenhouses; you got to eat vegetables, do you? It is good for your health.