Southern California Edison & BrightSource Ink Gargantuan Solar Power Deal
Biggest Solar Deal Ever Announced — We're Talking Gigawatts - Wired...
The largest series of solar installations in history, more than 1,300 megawatts, is planned for the desert outside Los Angeles, according to a new deal between the utility Southern California Edison and solar power plant maker, BrightSource.
The momentous deal will deliver more electricity than even the largest nuclear plant, spread out among seven facilities, the first of which will start up in 2013. When fully operational, the companies say the facility will provide enough electricity to power 845,000 homes — more than exist in San Francisco — though estimates like that are notoriously squirrely.
Southern California Edison and BrightSource Energy Sign World’s Lar...
.... “These contracts represent a significant addition to our renewable portfolio, which is already the nation’s largest.” said Stuart Hemphill, SCE vice president, Renewable and Alternative Power. “This innovative solar technology helps to further our position as the nation’s largest purchaser of solar energy, as well.”
“This landmark agreement illustrates the increasing demand for solar thermal energy as a reliable source of utility-scale renewable power,” said John Woolard, CEO of BrightSource Energy. “We look forward to working with Southern California Edison to provide clean, reliable and cost-competitive solar energy.”
The agreement, which now requires approval from the California Public Utilities Commission, calls for a series of seven projects totaling 1,300 megawatts. The first of these solar power plants, sized at 100 megawatts and located in Ivanpah, Calif., could be operating in early 2013 and is expected to produce 286,000 megawatt-hours of renewable electricity per year. BrightSource will build and place in commercial operation each of its plants as quickly as permitting and infrastructure allow.
The full 1,300 megawatts of projects will produce 3.7 billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy and avoid more than two million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually – the equivalent of removing more than 335,000 cars from the road.
As is often the case, the joint press releases from both companies contain much the same information. Oddly, the SCE press release has more in-depth info about BrightSource Energy’s technology than BrightSource's does:
BrightSource Energy’s proprietary Luz Power Tower 550 (LPT 550) energy system is built on proven “power tower” technology. The system uses thousands of small mirrors called heliostats to reflect sunlight onto a boiler atop a tower to produce high temperature steam. The steam is then piped to a conventional turbine which generates electricity. In order to conserve precious desert water, the LPT 550 system uses air-cooling to convert the steam back into water. The water is then returned to the boiler in an environmentally-friendly closed cycle. This fully integrated energy system is designed to offer the highest operating efficiencies and lowest capital costs in the industry.
... [DELETIA] ...
“The efficiency advancements found in the LPT 550 system reflect our technical team’s nearly three decades of experience pioneering solar thermal technology,” said Tom Doyle, senior vice president of project development for BrightSource Energy. “We have combined this engineering experience with world-class development capabilities to help our customers reduce their dependence on fossil fuels.”
The largest series of solar installations in history, more than 1,300 megawatts, is planned for the desert outside Los Angeles, according to a new deal between the utility Southern California Edison and solar power plant maker, BrightSource.
The momentous deal will deliver more electricity than even the largest nuclear plant, spread out among seven facilities, the first of which will start up in 2013. When fully operational, the companies say the facility will provide enough electricity to power 845,000 homes — more than exist in San Francisco — though estimates like that are notoriously squirrely.
Southern California Edison and BrightSource Energy Sign World’s Lar...
.... “These contracts represent a significant addition to our renewable portfolio, which is already the nation’s largest.” said Stuart Hemphill, SCE vice president, Renewable and Alternative Power. “This innovative solar technology helps to further our position as the nation’s largest purchaser of solar energy, as well.”
“This landmark agreement illustrates the increasing demand for solar thermal energy as a reliable source of utility-scale renewable power,” said John Woolard, CEO of BrightSource Energy. “We look forward to working with Southern California Edison to provide clean, reliable and cost-competitive solar energy.”
The agreement, which now requires approval from the California Public Utilities Commission, calls for a series of seven projects totaling 1,300 megawatts. The first of these solar power plants, sized at 100 megawatts and located in Ivanpah, Calif., could be operating in early 2013 and is expected to produce 286,000 megawatt-hours of renewable electricity per year. BrightSource will build and place in commercial operation each of its plants as quickly as permitting and infrastructure allow.
The full 1,300 megawatts of projects will produce 3.7 billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy and avoid more than two million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually – the equivalent of removing more than 335,000 cars from the road.
As is often the case, the joint press releases from both companies contain much the same information. Oddly, the SCE press release has more in-depth info about BrightSource Energy’s technology than BrightSource's does:
BrightSource Energy’s proprietary Luz Power Tower 550 (LPT 550) energy system is built on proven “power tower” technology. The system uses thousands of small mirrors called heliostats to reflect sunlight onto a boiler atop a tower to produce high temperature steam. The steam is then piped to a conventional turbine which generates electricity. In order to conserve precious desert water, the LPT 550 system uses air-cooling to convert the steam back into water. The water is then returned to the boiler in an environmentally-friendly closed cycle. This fully integrated energy system is designed to offer the highest operating efficiencies and lowest capital costs in the industry.
... [DELETIA] ...
“The efficiency advancements found in the LPT 550 system reflect our technical team’s nearly three decades of experience pioneering solar thermal technology,” said Tom Doyle, senior vice president of project development for BrightSource Energy. “We have combined this engineering experience with world-class development capabilities to help our customers reduce their dependence on fossil fuels.”
Tags: renewable energy, solar thermal
Comment
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Comment by Olivier on February 12, 2009 at 10:48am -
That's really a fantastic news. Wouaw, 1300 MW !
Olivier
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