Sustainable Industries, the San Francisco–based magazine for “leaders of the new economy,” has introduced print readers to a great new strategy for solar energy, under the headline, “Solar Power Joins with Fossil Fuels”:
The widespread adoption of solar-integrated power plants might not be that far off it two new construction projects are successful, according to Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a Palo Alto-based nonprofit research organization focused on the electric power industry. EPRI is partnering with the plant owners and operators of the two projects, which are expected to generate a total of about 130 megawatts (MW) of solar thermal power for two plants: a coal-powered facility in Prewitt, N.M. owned by Tri-State Generating and Transmission Association and a natural gas powered plant in Nevada, owned by Nevada Energy (NYSE:NCE).
The hybrid plants would use solar thermal technology, such as parabolic troughs, to create steam to be integrated into the plants’ existing steam cycles. . . .
Integrating solar into fossil fuel-powered facilities could provide a near-term way to implement utility-scale solar, while helping utilities meet renewable portfolio standards.
Since the power plant owners have not determined which concentrating solar technology to use, costs for the projects . . . haven’t been established, nor have project developers been selected. . . . Both are expected to be up and running in 2014.
They may not generate much electricity but they sure will look good on the cover of those annual reports!
– William Tucker is the author of Terrestrial Energy: How Nuclear Power Will Lead the Green Revolution and End America’s Energy Odyssey.