DISQUS

Q dub · 1 year ago

So we're looking at $2.8MM up front capex for each MW. Any comparables with other sources of grid energy?
Anthony Kuhn · 1 year ago

Chris:

Again, with the excellent Clean Tech reportage! Thanks for this piece and the links. I love this kind of innovation and I have high hopes for BrightSource's success.
John · 1 year ago

Response to Qdub

The current estimate is that a coal plant costs around $1.5M per megawatt for construction. So the solar plant is about double initial cost. The financial gain in the solar equation comes from the cost of fuel -- zero -- compared to coal. A small coal plant (350MW) will use a million tons of coal every year. Coal prices vary depending on your locale (around $15-60/ton) but you can count spending $20Mil/year for fuel. At that rate it doesn't take the solar thermal plant long to catch up.