SolarReserve, a California-based developer of utility-scale solar power projects has announced it has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with NV Energy for the sale of electricity from its Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project. Developed and owned by SolarReserve’s subsidiary, Tonopah Solar Energy, LLC, the 100-megawatt solar energy project will be located near the town of Tonopah in Nye County, Nevada. When completed, Tonopah Solar Energy’s facility will supply approximately 480,000 megawatt hours annually of clean, renewable electricity – enough to power up to 75,000 homes during peak electricity periods utilizing its innovative energy storage capabilities.
The project will utilize the advanced molten salt system technology from Connecticut’s United Technologies Corp. (UTC). SolarReserve’s power generating technology features efficient energy storage that can provide electricity reliably during peak demand periods, unlike conventional solar and wind power facilities which only produce power when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining.
SolarReserve’s design features a roughly 2-mile square field of tracking mirrors (called heliostats) that capture and focus the sun’s thermal energy on a tower-mounted receiver that resides in the center of the heliostat field. Inside the receiver, concentrated sunlight heats molten salt to over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. The heated molten salt then flows into a thermal storage tank where it is stored, maintaining 98% thermal efficiency, and eventually pumped to a steam generator. The steam drives a standard turbine to generate electricity. This process, also known as the “Rankine cycle” is similar to a standard coal-fired power plant, except it is fueled by clean, free, solar energy. Other than the few unique components, SolarReserve’s power plants are comprised of available materials and established technologies, such as steam generators and turbines, which the company estimates will enable the technology to provide electricity at or below prices from traditional sources such as coal or natural gas.
Large, utility scale solar power generation still faces land use and environmental (disruption of wildlife, etc.) issues – but the tech uses zero fossil fuels and creates zero emissions.
The project is expected to break ground by the end of 2010.
additional source: SolarReserve press release
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