DISQUS

VentureBeat: Let there be light: eSolar switches on first U.S. solar thermal tower

  • rkorba · 3 months ago
    Camille -- isn't the really big story that it's the only solar form that can *store* for off-peak and clouds 9molten salt and the like?), or am i wrong?
  • SunDowner · 3 months ago
    See United States Patent #4,387,574 from 1983. Great to see this old technology being rejuvinated for the 21st century! The DOE 10 MW Solar 2 tower that was shut down in 1999 could store solar power as molten salt.
  • 4DThinker · 3 months ago
    I hope that area never suffers hail storms.
  • AaronW · 3 months ago
    eSolar does not use molten salt as far as I am aware. I Could be wrong but I searched and searched for indication that they do but couldn't find it. Molten salt is the real game changer for solar thermal because it allows for nighttime production. If they are not using molten salt then none of their great strategies in technology or land procurement will amount to much. They would be a force to be reckoned with but as far as I know they don't. Until they do they will only be half way there.
  • Ben Weiss · 3 months ago
    25 Square Miles??? Really? Looks closer to around 1 square mile to me. Or is this just 1 of 25 such installations?
  • Matt McCrory · 3 months ago
    He's saying that if you were to install 25 square miles of their solar thermal plants, enough electricity to power the entire state could be generated. You are right that this plant is nowhere close to 25 square miles :)
  • macrumpton · 3 months ago
    One big advantage of this type of installation over a PV one is that the turbine can be powered by any appropriate source of heat, so when the sun is not shining (or shining less brightly) the steam can be generated by natural gas or some other fuel source.
  • craigermp · 3 months ago
    This eSolar project is a beautiful example of Wholesale Distributed Generation (WDG), which is the renewables market segment that avoids the decades-long transmission build-outs because the projects are located close to loads. In addition to being able to get WDG energy online fast, WDG energy is worth at least 35% more than large transmission-interconnected energy. The AB1106 Feed-In Tariff (FIT), which is well on its way to becoming law in California this year, will unleash the WDG market segment. The FIT Coalition is leading the charge on WDG and FITs in America, and its website provides an excellent overview along with detailed analyses: www.fitcoalition.com