Energy 101: Concentrating Solar Power
June 6th, 2011 by admin
From towers to dishes to linear mirrors to troughs, concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies reflect and collect solar heat to generate electricity. A single CSP plant can generate enough power for about 90000 homes. This video explains what CSP is, how it works, and how systems like parabolic troughs produce renewable power. For more information on the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s CSP research, see the Solar Energy Technology Program’s Concentrating Solar Power Web page at www1.eere.energy.gov
Video Rating: 4 / 5
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@PigMine2 Don’t let anyone tell you different. Your thoughts are heading in the correct direction. Industry, business and large population centers are some of the issues for intelligent T&D and demand side control. The term SmartGrid does not really define anything – it’s not just about user’s meters. PMUs, Synchrophaser technology, intelligent substation, storage and aggregation, efficiency, and local generation are all parts of an Intelligent grid. Your post is still very valid.
So help me with my math here:
The video says 250MW is enough to power 90,000 homes. ???
MWh = MW * Hours
or MWh = 250 MW * 8750 Hr
therefore 250MW is approx. 2.2MWh /yr
DOE EIA average for KWh usage per home is around 9000KWh annual (I believe this is a very very low number).
90,000 homes times 9000 KWh = 810MWh
2.2MWh generated minus 810MWh demand = -807MWh
Aren’t we missing over 800Mhr to power these 90,000 homes, or is my math equation totally wrong here?
Anyone?
Collectors are one time cost and they don’t cost much more then the money spent on the fuel for a conventional power plant over its life time. There are already several gigawatt solar plants going up in Arizona. Would be better if there were more but it’s a start..