Commentary By Ron Beasley
While many of us like the idea of decentralized energy production one of the reasons solar power has not had the support it deserves is it has been largely decentralized. The major energy producers have a large investment in energy distribution infrastructure which gives them both profits and power. While eSolar's solution may not be exactly what I would see as the future it sure as hell beats a coal or nuclear plant. Well legendary investor Bill Gross thinks eSolar is a good bet and he's rarely been wrong.
The Problem With Solar, and the Bill Gross 'Fix'
Detractors are quick to point out solar's current flaws:
- It's still too expensive;
- It doesn't scale;
- It doesn't produce power at night.
And while the rooftop solar market is a great distributed energy solution, it falls short of being able to provide baseload power at competitive rates, which is essential in today's electricity business.
Gross's new venture is aiming to change all that.
The company, eSolar, is making utility-scale solar energy solutions capable of generating up to 500 megawatts per plant � enough to power nearly half a million homes.
Its unique system uses hundreds of specially-designed mirrors � called heliostats � that reflect solar heat onto a central receiver. The receiver holds water that boils when heated by the intense sunlight; the steam is used to create electricity.
Each unit produces 46 MW. And the system is completely scalable, so a
utility can install one unit or ten. The latter would generate 500 MW
and look something like this:
It's not too expensive - it uses mirrors not expensive silicon solar cells.
It's scalable - all you have to do is order more units.
It works at night - hot water is stored for generating electricity at night.
While this may not be my ideal solution it is better than most of the alternatives. And the good news is it has some takers.
That's why NRG
Energy (NYSE: NRG) � which boasts one of the largest electricity
generation portfolios in the country � is using eSolar's technology to
build 11 solar power plants. The plants will be built in the Southwest
and have an eventual capacity of 500 MW.As a Fortune 500
company with numerous coal plants under operation, you can bet NRG isn't
all that interested in clean power or reduced emissions. They're after
cheap baseload power... And eSolar can deliver it.
Yeah, well. I'm favour of all this but they built one in Spain and it doesn't even come close to paying itself off. Saw it on the BBC - sorry can't verify the story. But Prof. Lovelock (inventor of the Gaia concept) and one of the founders of Greenpeace both are staunch supported of nuclear technology. As Lovelock says, 3 years of nuclear waste from a French reactor can fit into the backseat of a taxi. Given the lack of alternatives these guys are being pragmatic environmental realists. Dispel any images you have in your mind of X-Files-like yellow drums leaking glowing green ooze. An older friend of mine who was a professional musician during the '60's loathed the hippies from up close experience. They were all just in it for the chicks and power, he said. Not a real soul in one of them. It seems they graduated to becoming the Dick Cheney scare-mongers of the environmental movement... reality be damned. What we need is 50 nuclear power stations. Preferably not built by GE who seem to turn the things into cracked concrete, cost overrun boondoggles before they even start.
ReplyDeleteAn' that sir, is MY 2 cents...
Actually hidflect it was the Westinghouse that designed and manufactured the lemon reactors most of which were built by the incompetents at Bechtel.
ReplyDeleteI'm confusing my incompetents, sorry.
ReplyDelete