BrightSource Energy – a VC-funded concentrating solar power technology firm based in California – announced Tuesday that it has added storage capabilities to three of its power purchase agreements with Southern California Edison. Bloombergreports that Edison International, owner of California’s largest electric utility, is revamping its contracts with BrightSource to include power storage, which the companies say will eliminate the need to build a power plant. SCE agreed in February 2009 to purchase 1,300 megawatts from seven BrightSource plants. Marc Ulrich, vice president of alternative and renewable power at Edison’s SCE says that adding storage at three BrightSource CSP facilities will allow Edison to pay less for power, with energy production at each site predicted to improve by at least 30 per cent with storage.
“The plant itself can be slightly smaller and still get more output,” Ulrich told Bloomberg in an interview. Bloomberg says BrightSource will build two plants with molten-salt storage at the company's Sonoran West project and add a third at its Siberia project. John Woolard, BrightSource's CEO, says this will enable electricity production to continue for two to four hours after sunset. The California-based company also claims that adding storage allows utilities to "avoid the hidden costs associated with integrating intermittent resources that require fossil fuel back-up."
As Greentech Mediapoints out, the advantages of molten-salt storage – increased capacity factor; extended power generation into later parts of the day and after sunset; greater operational flexibility to meet customer demand; and added and ancillary services to support a reliable grid – are known and proven. "BrightSource’s power tower solar thermal system uses a field of software-controlled mirrors called heliostats to reflect the sun’s energy onto a boiler atop a tower to produce high temperature and high pressure steam," says the website. "The steam is used to turn a conventional steam turbine to produce electricity. When paired with storage, the steam is directed to a heat exchanger, where molten salts are further heated to a higher temperature, storing the heat energy for future use. Later, when the energy in storage is needed, the heat stored in the molten salts is used to generate steam to run the steam turbine."
According to Bloomberg, SCE – who reportedly sourced 19.3 percent of its power load from renewable energy last year – chose solar PV technology for more than 50 of the last 60 contracts it signed, a factor Ulrich says makes storage even more important. “With photovoltaics dominating the competition these days, it was important for Edison to keep its customers’ total costs in mind going forward, which would include the integration costs of those solar panels,” Ulrich told Bloomberg. “We know those costs are real, and we’re trying to mitigate those by having a balanced portfolio,” he said. Pending approval from the California Public Utilities Commission for the amended contract, BrightSource says it expects the plants to enter operation in 2016 and 2017.
Another solar setback
Another month, another Australian solar PV company collapse, with news this week that Queensland-based firm Solarcore is being placed into administration, as lack of demand and government support lays the sector low. The Cairns Post reported this week that the locally-based firm has been subject to allegations of theft surrounding its placement into administration. There was also some suggestion that company records had been destroyed. It is reported creditors became aware of the situation when it became clear that accounts weren't being paid. Administrators Moira Carter and Ian Jessup from BRI Ferrier have been appointed to the firm, and SmartCompanyreports that it tried contacting both parties, but found neither available prior to publication. Solarcore was placed into administration on November 23, with a creditor's meeting expected to take place on December 2. The company offers solar hot water products, solar panels, inverters, heat pumps and gas hot water systems, along with PV installations. The collapse of Solarcore and its subsidiaries has reportedly affected 28 employees, and 63 customers, although administrators are reportedly confident they will be able to strike a deal. The news follows the fall of market leader Solar Shop, which was placed into receivership in September, with partner Ferrier Hodgson John Lindholm saying the firm was impacted by a number of regulatory changes.
Hey ladies
Australia’s only major all-female climate action campaign – 1 Million Women – is mounting a six-month campaign, from January to June, to fight cost of living increases by cutting waste and pollution in households. The 1 Million Women SAVE campaign, involving 53,000 women around Australia, kicks off with a SAVE Summit at the Sydney Town Hall on December 14, to showcase the organisation's "lifestyle change program," that claims to be able to help households save $1000 or more a year, and to make them "winners" under the impending federal carbon price scheme. The My 1 Million Women SAVE Action Plan, which will be launched at the Summit, is based around six elements: drive, food, power, wear, shop, and invest. The "food" element is where the plan finds the most potential for savings, claiming that up to $500 can be cut from household food bills per year. The next biggest saving, they say, can be made from car/driving expenses, at $250, while $150 in savings are earmarked from power use.
Natalie Isaacs, founder and CEO of 1 Million Women, calls the program "a lifestyle antidote to waste, pollution and overconsumption," and says following it is a relatively easy way to save money and reduce your household's footprint. "The average household throws out food worth $1000 every year. We overuse electricity, drive too much and buy stuff we’ll never use. We can easily save at least $1000 a year for the household budget and 1000kg a year of CO2 pollution for the Earth by making simple changes in our day-to-day lifestyles that collectively save energy and cut waste and pollution," Isaacs says. "We don’t buy the idea that acting on climate change automatically means sacrificing our financial wellbeing or quality of life. There’s a lot we can do in our own lives. We want SAVE to be a daily living choice for everyone." Rallying to the call at the December SAVE Summit will be such female figureheads as actor Noni Hazelhurst, champion surfer Layne Beachley, youth and human rights advocate Samah Hadid, and environmental champions Kim McKay and Caroline Bayliss. Ireland's first female president, Mary Robinson, who now heads the Mary Robinson Foundation, Climate Justice, will also be appearing via video link.
BrightSource Energy – a VC-funded concentrating solar power technology firm based in California – announced Tuesday that it has added storage capabilities to three of its power purchase agreements with Southern California Edison. Bloomberg reports that Edison International, owner of California’s largest electric utility, is revamping its contracts with BrightSource to include power storage, which the companies say will eliminate the need to build a power plant. SCE agreed in February 2009 to purchase 1,300 megawatts from seven BrightSource plants. Marc Ulrich, vice president of alternative and renewable power at Edison’s SCE says that adding storage at three BrightSource CSP facilities will allow Edison to pay less for power, with energy production at each site predicted to improve by at least 30 per cent with storage.
“The plant itself can be slightly smaller and still get more output,” Ulrich told Bloomberg in an interview. Bloomberg says BrightSource will build two plants with molten-salt storage at the company's Sonoran West project and add a third at its Siberia project. John Woolard, BrightSource's CEO, says this will enable electricity production to continue for two to four hours after sunset. The California-based company also claims that adding storage allows utilities to "avoid the hidden costs associated with integrating intermittent resources that require fossil fuel back-up."
As Greentech Media points out, the advantages of molten-salt storage – increased capacity factor; extended power generation into later parts of the day and after sunset; greater operational flexibility to meet customer demand; and added and ancillary services to support a reliable grid – are known and proven. "BrightSource’s power tower solar thermal system uses a field of software-controlled mirrors called heliostats to reflect the sun’s energy onto a boiler atop a tower to produce high temperature and high pressure steam," says the website. "The steam is used to turn a conventional steam turbine to produce electricity. When paired with storage, the steam is directed to a heat exchanger, where molten salts are further heated to a higher temperature, storing the heat energy for future use. Later, when the energy in storage is needed, the heat stored in the molten salts is used to generate steam to run the steam turbine."
According to Bloomberg, SCE – who reportedly sourced 19.3 percent of its power load from renewable energy last year – chose solar PV technology for more than 50 of the last 60 contracts it signed, a factor Ulrich says makes storage even more important. “With photovoltaics dominating the competition these days, it was important for Edison to keep its customers’ total costs in mind going forward, which would include the integration costs of those solar panels,” Ulrich told Bloomberg. “We know those costs are real, and we’re trying to mitigate those by having a balanced portfolio,” he said. Pending approval from the California Public Utilities Commission for the amended contract, BrightSource says it expects the plants to enter operation in 2016 and 2017.
Another solar setback
Another month, another Australian solar PV company collapse, with news this week that Queensland-based firm Solarcore is being placed into administration, as lack of demand and government support lays the sector low. The Cairns Post reported this week that the locally-based firm has been subject to allegations of theft surrounding its placement into administration. There was also some suggestion that company records had been destroyed. It is reported creditors became aware of the situation when it became clear that accounts weren't being paid. Administrators Moira Carter and Ian Jessup from BRI Ferrier have been appointed to the firm, and SmartCompany reports that it tried contacting both parties, but found neither available prior to publication. Solarcore was placed into administration on November 23, with a creditor's meeting expected to take place on December 2. The company offers solar hot water products, solar panels, inverters, heat pumps and gas hot water systems, along with PV installations. The collapse of Solarcore and its subsidiaries has reportedly affected 28 employees, and 63 customers, although administrators are reportedly confident they will be able to strike a deal. The news follows the fall of market leader Solar Shop, which was placed into receivership in September, with partner Ferrier Hodgson John Lindholm saying the firm was impacted by a number of regulatory changes.
Hey ladies
Australia’s only major all-female climate action campaign – 1 Million Women – is mounting a six-month campaign, from January to June, to fight cost of living increases by cutting waste and pollution in households. The 1 Million Women SAVE campaign, involving 53,000 women around Australia, kicks off with a SAVE Summit at the Sydney Town Hall on December 14, to showcase the organisation's "lifestyle change program," that claims to be able to help households save $1000 or more a year, and to make them "winners" under the impending federal carbon price scheme. The My 1 Million Women SAVE Action Plan, which will be launched at the Summit, is based around six elements: drive, food, power, wear, shop, and invest. The "food" element is where the plan finds the most potential for savings, claiming that up to $500 can be cut from household food bills per year. The next biggest saving, they say, can be made from car/driving expenses, at $250, while $150 in savings are earmarked from power use.
Natalie Isaacs, founder and CEO of 1 Million Women, calls the program "a lifestyle antidote to waste, pollution and overconsumption," and says following it is a relatively easy way to save money and reduce your household's footprint. "The average household throws out food worth $1000 every year. We overuse electricity, drive too much and buy stuff we’ll never use. We can easily save at least $1000 a year for the household budget and 1000kg a year of CO2 pollution for the Earth by making simple changes in our day-to-day lifestyles that collectively save energy and cut waste and pollution," Isaacs says. "We don’t buy the idea that acting on climate change automatically means sacrificing our financial wellbeing or quality of life. There’s a lot we can do in our own lives. We want SAVE to be a daily living choice for everyone." Rallying to the call at the December SAVE Summit will be such female figureheads as actor Noni Hazelhurst, champion surfer Layne Beachley, youth and human rights advocate Samah Hadid, and environmental champions Kim McKay and Caroline Bayliss. Ireland's first female president, Mary Robinson, who now heads the Mary Robinson Foundation, Climate Justice, will also be appearing via video link.