File this one under I for I’m Not Dead Yet! Just a few years ago, concentrating solar power was looked upon with scorn by more than a few energy tech observers. Nevertheless, the US ramped up its interest in CSP during former President Barack Obama’s tenure, and it looks like President* Trump is looking to step the technology up to the next level. In the latest development, the Department of Energy has just announced a new round of $72 million in funding for a next-generation twist on CSP that could put coal, natural gas, and nuclear power generation out to pasture forever.
I know, right? Political observers have taken note that Trump’s policy goals are weirdly focused on upending programs championed by Obama regardless of the effect, but the Department of Energy is a weirdly notable exception.
What Is High Temperature Concentrating Solar Power?
The basic complaint about concentrating solar power has been that it is too complicated and expensive compared to photovoltaic cells. Instead of generating electricity in solar panels, CSP plants work by bouncing sunlight off a large field of mirrors.
All that sunlight is reflected onto a central point, where it heats a liquid such as a specialized oil or molten salt. That liquid is piped to a generating facility to become the heat source for creating steam, which powers a steam-driven generator. There, finally, is your electricity.
Despite the complicated system, the feature that has energy planners all excited is the hot liquid. In effect, the liquid doubles as an energy storage platform, meaning that a CSP plant can potentially generate electricity 24/7.
The problem tackled by the Department of Energy is this one: it’s not hot enough. The current technology only supports about 565 degrees Centigrade. That’s pretty hot, but it’s not efficient enough to help lower the cost of CSP. With higher heat, you get a shot at storing energy in thermochemical bonds and other fancy options.
That’s not a sustainable track if you’re depending on fossil fuels to get the higher temperature. The deployment of renewable energy puts a whole different spin on the situation.
Renewable or not, part of the challenge is how to get your systems to not fall apart under the stress of high heat.
The Energy Department’s Generation 3 CSP program is designed to take on those challenges, and that’s where the $72 million in new funding comes in. Here’s DOE with the explainer:
…Gen3 CSP high-temperature thermal systems have the potential to lower the cost of a CSP system by approximately $0.02 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), which is 40 percent of the way toward the solar office’s 2030 cost goals of $0.05 per kWh for baseload configurations. This cost target is highly competitive with other dispatchable power generators and would enable more solar to be connected to the grid while also increasing its value.
Did you catch that thing about “baseload?” That’s another criticism of CSP. After all that expense and effort, you still wind up with a centralized, baseload power generation model that doesn’t quite fit with the small scale, distributed generation vision of the future.
On the other hand, even if the role of baseload power plants is destined to shrink, realistically speaking they will still be around for the foreseeable future. As they age out, at least some of them will need to be replaced by other baseload facilities.
Don’t Hold Your Breath For High Temperature Concentrating Solar Power
During the Obama administration, the Department of Energy made a big deal about showcasing the country’s new fleet of conventional concentrating solar power plants. The agency has continued to make the case for CSP with Energy Secretary Rick Perry at the helm, including high temperature CSP.
The research on high temperature CSP is still in the piecemeal phase, and the latest round of CSP funding is aimed at integrating various components into assemblies that can be put into operation and tested.
That’s going to take a while. The $72 million in funding will kick off a two-year design phase for a test facility. Three teams have been selected for that phase, and at the end one of them will be awarded additional funding to construct the facility. The timeline calls for a three-year construction period.
Keep in mind this whole five-year period is just to get the point where you can put the technology through its paces, and you have a long way to go before commercialization.
If and when that happens, it’s going to make things mighty interesting for competing energy resources with baseload capability. Coal is already toast anyways, but natural gas and nuclear might want to not look back.
For some insider perspective on that, we’ve reached out to one of the Gen3CSP awardees, the Electric Power Research Institute, so stay tuned for an update.
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Image (screenshot): US Department of Energy.
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Andika hii chini ya I kwa I <unk>m Not Dead Yet! Miaka michache tu iliyopita, watazamaji wengi wa teknolojia ya nishati walidharau kuunganisha nishati ya jua. Hata hivyo, Marekani iliongeza maslahi yake katika CSP wakati wa utawala wa Rais Barack Obama, na inaonekana kama Rais Trump anatafuta kuongeza teknolojia hiyo hadi ngazi inayofuata. Wizara ya Nishati ya Marekani imetangaza mzunguko mpya wa fedha za dola milioni 72 kwa ajili ya kizazi kipya cha CSP, ambayo inaweza kuweka makaa ya mawe, gesi ya asili na nishati ya nyuklia nje ya malisho milele. Najua, sawa? "Wanachunguza siasa wamebainisha kuwa malengo ya sera ya Trump ni ya kushangaza kuzingatia ""kuharibu"" mipango iliyopendekezwa na Obama bila kujali athari, lakini Idara ya Nishati ni tofauti ya kushangaza." Je, Joto la Juu Linatokeza Nishati ya Jua? Malalamiko ya msingi kuhusu kukusanya nishati ya jua imekuwa kwamba ni ngumu sana na ghali ikilinganishwa na seli za photovoltaic. Badala ya kuzalisha umeme katika paneli za jua, mitambo ya CSP inafanya kazi kwa kurudisha mwanga wa jua kutoka kwenye uwanja mkubwa wa vioo. Nuru ya jua huangushwa kwenye sehemu ya katikati, ambapo huongeza joto la kioevu kama vile mafuta au chumvi iliyomwagika. Kioevu hicho huendeshwa kwenye kituo cha kuzalisha ili kiwe chanzo cha joto cha kutokeza mvuke, ambao huendesha jenereta inayoendeshwa kwa mvuke. Hatimaye, kuna umeme wako. Licha ya mfumo huo wenye kutatanisha, jambo linalowasisimua sana wapangaji wa nishati ni umajimaji wenye joto. Kwa kweli, maji huongeza kama jukwaa la kuhifadhi nishati, ikimaanisha kwamba kiwanda cha CSP kinaweza kuzalisha umeme 24 7. Tatizo linaloshughulikiwa na Idara ya Nishati ni hili: haifai kutosha. Teknolojia ya sasa inasaidia tu kuhusu 565 ° C. Hiyo ni moto sana, lakini si ufanisi wa kutosha kusaidia kupunguza gharama ya CSP. Kwa joto la juu, unapata nafasi ya kuhifadhi nishati katika vifungo vya thermochemical na chaguzi nyingine za kifahari. Hiyo si njia endelevu ikiwa unategemea mafuta ya visukuku ili kupata joto la juu. Utekelezaji wa nishati mbadala huweka spin tofauti kabisa juu ya hali hiyo. Ikiwa ni ya kuaminika au la, sehemu ya changamoto ni jinsi ya kupata mifumo yako ili isianguke chini ya mkazo wa joto la juu. Programu ya CSP ya kizazi cha tatu ya Idara ya Nishati imekusudiwa kuchukua changamoto hizo, na hapo ndipo dola milioni 72 za ufadhili mpya zinapokuja. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""Gen3 CSP mfumo wa joto wa joto una uwezo wa kupunguza gharama ya mfumo wa CSP kwa karibu $ 0.02 kwa kilowatt-saa (kWh), ambayo ni asilimia 40 ya njia kuelekea malengo ya gharama ya ofisi ya jua ya 2030 ya $ 0.05 kwa kWh kwa miundo ya mzigo wa msingi.""" Lengo hili la gharama ni ushindani sana na jenereta nyingine za umeme zinazoweza kutumwa na itawezesha jua zaidi kuunganishwa kwenye gridi wakati pia kuongeza thamani yake. "Kama unavyoona, ""baseload"" ni moja ya sababu za msingi za CSP." Baada ya gharama zote na juhudi, bado wewe kuishia na katikati, baseload umeme uzalishaji mfano kwamba haina kabisa inafaa na ndogo, kusambazwa uzalishaji maono ya siku zijazo. Kwa upande mwingine, hata kama jukumu la mitambo ya umeme ya mzigo wa msingi imepangwa kupungua, kwa kweli wataendelea kuwapo kwa siku zijazo zinazotabirika. Kama wao umri nje, angalau baadhi yao itabidi kubadilishwa na vifaa vingine baseload. Wakati wa utawala wa Obama, Idara ya Nishati ilifanya mpango mkubwa juu ya kuonyesha meli mpya ya nchi ya mitambo ya umeme wa jua ya kawaida. Shirika hilo limeendelea kuendeleza kesi ya CSP na Katibu wa Nishati Rick Perry kwenye uongozi, ikiwa ni pamoja na CSP ya joto la juu. Utafiti wa hali ya juu ya joto la CSP bado uko katika hatua ya kipande, na mzunguko wa hivi karibuni wa ufadhili wa CSP unakusudia kuunganisha vipengele mbalimbali katika makundi ambayo yanaweza kuanzishwa na kupimwa. Hiyo itachukua muda. Mfuko huo wa dola milioni 72 utaanza na hatua ya miaka miwili ya kubuni kituo cha majaribio. Timu tatu zimechaguliwa kwa awamu hiyo, na mwishoni mwa moja yao itapewa fedha za ziada kujenga kituo hicho. Mfuatano wa wakati unadai kipindi cha ujenzi cha miaka mitatu. Kumbuka kwamba kipindi hiki cha miaka mitano ni tu kupata hatua ambapo unaweza kuweka teknolojia kwa njia yake, na una njia ndefu ya kwenda kabla ya kibiashara. Kama na wakati kwamba hutokea, ni kwenda kufanya mambo nguvu ya kuvutia kwa ajili ya kushindana rasilimali za nishati na uwezo baseload. Makaa ya mawe tayari ni toast anyway, lakini gesi ya asili na nyuklia inaweza wanataka si kuangalia nyuma. Kwa maoni ya ndani juu ya hilo, tumewasiliana na mmoja wa washindi wa tuzo ya Gen3CSP, Taasisi ya Utafiti wa Nishati ya Umeme, kwa hivyo kaa kwenye mfululizo wa habari. Nifuate kwenye Twitter. Picha: Idara ya Nishati ya Marekani Je, una ncha kwa ajili ya CleanTechnica? Je, unataka kutangaza? 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