[yesplease]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('xerces', 'A')ll of your points about politics are taken. However, it still does not detract from the fact that this is an economical(at current prices) and scalable solution to the problem at hand.

[aahala2]

According to EIA reports, there was only one Solar thermal
plant added to the US grid in the last two years. The capacity
was estimated at 64 MW, and from news accounts the cost was
about 240 million. So the cost is high but much lower than
PV.

The costs may or may not come down, but without actually
building more of these, how would you know? If an economic
learning curve is possible, it's only revealed by installation.

[xerces]

Energy storage is one of the key selling points of solar thermal as the article seems to indicate. One reason why PV systems are so expensive is due to the cost of storing the generated electricity in chemically based batteries.

Solar thermal allows for energy storage in the form of heated oil/water/salt within vacuum sealed containers. This is orders of magnitude cheaper and more reliable than battery or nano-capacitor storage technologies.

This solution is just so plain simple that it might actually work.

[yesplease]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('xerces', 'T')his solution is just so plain simple that it might actually work.

[Starvid]

More expensive than the alternatives.

Next please!

[joe1347]

Parabolic solar troughs (concentrated solar power) are projected to produce power at about 13 cents/Kw-Hr. Coal is closer to 5 cents/Kw-Hr (without CO2 sequestration) and unlike solar-thermal can generate power after the sun goes down.

[yesplease]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joe1347', 'P')arabolic solar troughs (concentrated solar power) are projected to produce power at about 13 cents/Kw-Hr.

[yesplease]

That being said, industry doesn't like to turn a cold shoulder to other industry. People dying prematurely from fossil fuel emissions, especially coal, means quite a bit saved in terms of pension and even social security, more money spent on health care, and more Carbon to clean up, and get paid for cleaning up.

[Frank]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('xerces', 'E')nergy storage is one of the key selling points of solar thermal as the article seems to indicate. One reason why PV systems are so expensive is due to the cost of storing the generated electricity in chemically based batteries.

Solar thermal allows for energy storage in the form of heated oil/water/salt within vacuum sealed containers.

[yesplease]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Frank', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('xerces', 'E')nergy storage is one of the key selling points of solar thermal as the article seems to indicate. One reason why PV systems are so expensive is due to the cost of storing the generated electricity in chemically based batteries.

Solar thermal allows for energy storage in the form of heated oil/water/salt within vacuum sealed containers.

[sicophiliac]

Maybe our saving grace will be spiking electricity prices that will eventually start to follow high oil prices? I mean if plug in/electric cars start to come online that will push demand higher vs the already strained supply.. hopefully we could drive up the cost of electricity and make things like solar thermal more economical. Or why not a nice carbon tax on the coal plants to level the playing field. I mean oil prices are up 6 fold in the past 7 years, its not like paying 2-3 times more for electricity is going to kill anybody.

[yesplease]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('sicophiliac', 'M')aybe our saving grace will be spiking electricity prices that will eventually start to follow high oil prices? I mean if plug in/electric cars start to come online that will push demand higher vs the already strained supply..

[Frank]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('yesplease', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Wikipedia', '[')i]Heat storage allows a solar thermal plant to produce energy at night or overcast days. The advantage is that the power generation becomes reliable and the utility can sell this higher quality product for higher prices. Also, the utilization of the generator is higher which reduces cost. The general principle is to transfer the heat to a substance which can hold the heat with a high energy density.

[Gerben]

If you can continue to run at peak capacity when the sun is going down (during the late afternoon), you are still at peak prices. And you do not only save on investment on the generator, but also on the required grid capacity expansion.

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Gerben', 'I')f you can continue to run at peak capacity when the sun is going down (during the late afternoon), you are still at peak prices. And you do not only save on investment on the generator, but also on the required grid capacity expansion.

[vampyregirl]

California based Ausra plans to build a 177 megawatt STE plant for Pacific Gas and Electric. It will be enough to power 120k homes.
STE generators use large mirrors to reflect sunlight onto a water pipe, boiling the water to produce steam to drive turbines. A prototype of the proposed plant has been built.
www.ausra.com
www.popularmechanics.com
For more infromation on this breakthrough technology
Could this new technology eventually make traditional power plants such as coal fired generators obsolete?

[jlw61]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vampyregirl', 'C')alifornia based Ausra plans to build a 177 megawatt STE plant for Pacific Gas and Electric. It will be enough to power 120k homes.
STE generators use large mirrors to reflect sunlight onto a water pipe, boiling the water to produce steam to drive turbines. A prototype of the proposed plant has been built.
www.ausra.com
www.popularmechanics.com
For more infromation on this breakthrough technology
Could this new technology eventually make traditional power plants such as coal fired generators obsolete?

[IslandCrow]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')yths about Solar Energy

"Solar energy only works in the daytime, and it can't provide the reliable power we need."
Solar thermal power plants can store energy during daylight hours and generate power when it's needed. Ausra's power plants collect the sun's energy as heat; Ausra is developing thermal energy storage systems which can store enough heat to run the power plant for up to 20 hours during dark or cloudy periods....

[joe1347]

Why get cranked up over the fact that the sun goes down at night. Peak usage is clearly during the day when the sun is shining which makes for a perfect fit with solar. When the sun goes down and demand drops, then switch back over to coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, nukes or even some wind. Another appealling aspect of solar thermal is that a large percentage of the installed infrastructure can be shared with a natural gas powered electricity - or more simply. During the day, the sun provides the heat to run the turbines and during the night, you burn natural gas to run the same turbines.

[smallpoxgirl]

There are far better ways to use solar thermal energy. Incorporating passive solar design in homes tops the list. Next in line is solar hot water. The more complicated the design gets, the more expensive and energy intensive it becomes to build and maintain. Corporate types love big these monster projects that they can make big bank off of, but smaller personal systems make way better sense.