Solar/gas combo announced for Arizona
March 16th, 2007
 
Thanks to Harry for sending this article from Power Engineering that shows yet another utterly sensible option for dispatchable power!!!!! In addition to my fave, the wind/gas combo, now a solar/gas combo has been announced for Arizona:
LS Power to develop solar plant next to gas-fired facility in Arizona
7 March 2007 — LS Power Group has initiated the development of a stand-alone solar power plant near its natural gas-fueled Arlington Valley Energy Facility, a 570 MW combined-cycle plant in Maricopa County, Arizona.
“We have begun serious evaluation of a major thermal solar project on the 3,500-acre parcel we own surrounding the Arlington Valley plant,” said Jason Hochberg, president of LS Power. “This large, flat, very sunny location has tremendous potential to produce clean, renewable energy.”
In addition to the stand-alone project, LS Power is studying the feasibility of building a solar integration project at the same location. Thermal solar units would generate steam for use in the combined-cycle plant, possibly reducing fuel consumption and cutting emissions, including greenhouse gases. The integration project would be among the first ever built for commercial use.
The development project is being undertaken by LSP Polaria, an LS Power subsidiary. When the pending business combination between LS Power and Dynegy closes, the project will be jointly owned by the two companies under the terms of a joint venture arrangement.
Copyright © 2007: PennWell Corporation.
Where can we do CSP and gas?
March 16th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
This stuff is very location-specific.
The US southwest is good for solar/gas, as the map above shows. Other areas are good for wind/gas–such as the “Mid-Atlantic Bight,” where Kempton, et al, say they have identified a 330 GW resource (http://www.ocean.udel.edu/windpower/docs/KemptonEtAl-MAB-PROOF.pdf)