Concentrating Solar Power (CSP): Technology, Markets, and Development

Craig S. Turchi, PhD

craig.turchi@nrel.gov National Renewable Energy Laboratory Golden, Colorado, USA

October 2009

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Outline Technology Overview

Parabolic Troughs Linear Fresnel Power Towers Dish / Engine Systems

CSP Siting, Integration and Markets Projects Research & Development Focus

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CSP Technologies and Market Sectors

CSP w/ Storage (Dispatchable) Parabolic Trough Power Tower Linear Fresnel

CSP w/o Storage (Non-Dispatchable) Dish/Engine

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Parabolic Trough

www.centuryinventions.com

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Linear Fresnel systems

Eck, et al., SolarPACES 2009, Berlin, Germany

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Parabolic Trough Power Plant w/ 2-Tank Indirect Molten Salt Thermal Storage
Trough Field

390C

Salt Storage Tanks

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Power Tower (Central Receiver)

Different design approaches: Direct Steam Generation
Abengoa PS10 (Spain) Abengoa PS20 (Spain) BrightSource (USA/Israel) eSolar (USA)

Molten Salt
Solar Two (USA demo) SolarReserve (USA)

Air Receiver
Jlich (Germany)

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Molten Salt Power Towers

Ability to store hot salt allows molten salt Towers to run at high capacity factors.
565C Hot Salt Cold Salt 288C

Steam Generator

Heliostat Field
Conventional steam turbine & generator Condenser

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Dish Systems
Dish/Stirling: Pre-commercial, pilot-scale deployments

Concentrating PV: Commercial and precommercial pilot-scale deployments Modular (3-25kW) High solar-to-electric efficiency Capacity factors limited to <25% due to lack of storage capability
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Outline Technology Overview

Parabolic Troughs Linear Fresnel Power Towers Dish / Engine Systems

CSP Siting, Integration and Markets Projects Research & Development Focus

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Solar Resource Screening

All Solar Resources

1. 2. 3.

Start with direct normal irradiance (DNI) estimates derived from satellite data. Exclude locations with less than minimum DNI threshold (~6.75 kWh/m2/day) Exclude culturally and environmentally sensitive lands, urban areas, lakes and rivers. Exclude land with greater than 1% to 3% average land slope. Exclude areas of less than 1 km2 Site near load centers and transmission corridors
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4. 5. 6.

Locations best for Development

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Site filtering example - USA

Solar > 6.75 kWh/m2/day

Land Exclusions

Slope & Area Exclusions

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CSP Resource Potential - USA

Assumptions: SolarResource 6.75kWh/m2/day Landuse5acre/MW Landslope<1% Capacityfactor27% Water,urbanareas,and environmentallysensitivelands excluded

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Solar Resource South America

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CSP Integration Advantages

Match load profile Thermal inertia
Passing clouds have minor effect Output exhibits slow ramp rates

Thermal energy storage

Can provide power after sunset Dispatchable

Can be hybridized with fossil-backup or integrated into fossil power plants

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Thermal inertia avoids rapid power changes

Comparison of power output from large CSP and PV plants located within 50 km of each other.

Mehos, et al., IEEE Power & Energy Magazine, May/June 2009.

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Thermal Storage - a key CSP advantage

Solar Resource Load

Unlike Wind and PV, CSP can store thermal energy for later use. Simple thermal storage makes CSP power dispatchable

Generation w/ Storage

Hour of Day
Thermal storage tanks at Andasol 1
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CSP integration Challenges

Cost higher than coal, natural gas, or wind Economics favor large installations (high capital cost) Land use & impact
5-10 acres required per MWe Land typically cleared and graded Impact minimized by locating plants on previously disturbed lands

Water consumption
Approximately 3.0 m3 per MWh for wet-cooled plant Air-cooled plants use 90% less water, but cost more and run at lower efficiency during hot days Dish/Engine systems use water for mirror cleaning only

Transmission required
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CSP Costs - Troughs

0.18 0.16 0.14 N o m in a l L C O E ($ / k w h ) 0.12 0.10 0.08 0.06 Assumes:
- Trough Technology w ith 6 hours of TES

Technology Cost in 2007 ~$0.16/kWh (nominal)

0.12 0.11 0.10 0.09 0.08 0.07 0.06 R e a l L C O E (2 0 0 5 $ / k w h )

Todays costs are >16/kWh due to higher material costs (e.g., steel, nitrate salt) Costs for Tower and Dish systems will be defined when commercial systems are built Cost Reductions anticipated via R&D Deployment Plant Size
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2015 Goal ~$0.10/kWh

0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.00

0.04 - IPP Financing; 30-year PPA 0.02 0.00 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 Cumulative New Capacity by 2015 (MW)
- California Property Tax exemption - Includes scale-up, R&D, learning effects - Barstow , California site

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future Source: WGA Solar Task Force Summary Report, includes 30% federal Investment Tax Credit

System Modeling: Solar Advisor Model (SAM)

Download at http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/sam

Modelssolarperformance,cost,finance,andincentives PerformancemodelsincludeCSPandPV Financialmodelsincludeutility(IPP,IOU),commercial,andresidentialfinance

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Outline Technology Overview

Parabolic Troughs Linear Fresnel Power Towers Dish / Engine Systems

CSP Siting, Integration and Markets Projects Research & Development Focus

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354 MW Luz Solar Electric Generating Systems Nine SEGS Plants built 1984-1991 (California, USA)

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64 MW Acciona Nevada Solar One (2007) Nevada, USA

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50 MW Andasol One and Two with Storage (2009) Andaluca, Spain

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Abengoa Power Towers and Trough Plants Seville, Spain

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Stirling Energy Systems 25kW Prototypes New Mexico, USA

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Ausra 5 MW Linear Fresnel demo California, USA

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Power Tower Pilot Plants

5 MWe eSolar California, USA

6 MWthermal BrightSource Negev Desert, Israel

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CSP Projects in the US

For projects list go to www.seia.org and http://nreldev.nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/

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Research & Development Focus

Thermal energy storage systems and materials Direct steam generation Collector/reflector performance and durability Stirling engine design for manufacturing Resource assessment and forecasting Receiver performance Heliostat control

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CSP Summary
Parabolic Trough CSP plants are commercial technology with a >20year operating history providing intermediate and peak power. Without government incentives, CSP costs are still 2x higher than conventional power generators. New Trough, Power Tower, and Dish/Stirling designs offer cost reduction potential. CSP plants with thermal storage can provide power after sunset while increasing the value of power delivered and promoting grid stability. The solar resource is immense, with prime CSP locations in the USA, Australia, Spain, North Africa, and India. Primary environmental impacts are land usage and water consumption (for wet-cooled plants). Access to transmission lines is required. CSP plants are being planned and built in USA, Spain, and other locations around the world.

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Closing thoughts

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