World's Largest Solar Power Plant Planned in Arizona

CoStar News ^ | Feb. 29, 2008 | Phillip Majarucon

[PeaceBeWithYou]

Abengoa Solar Purchases 3,000 Acres for $1 Billion Solana Generating Plant

Abengoa Solar, a Spanish-based solar energy company, has purchased roughly 3,000 acres near Gila Bend, AZ, where it intends to develop the world's largest solar power plant.

An investment entity associated with Brandon Wolfswinkel of Tempe, AZ, sold the land for $45.12 million, or about $14,700 per acre.

Abengoa Solar, which has solar plants in Spain and northern Africa, will construct and operate the 280-megawatt, $1 billion facility known as the Solana Generating Plant. The plant will use thousands of giant mirrors covering 1,900 acres to harness the sun's heat (rather than its light) to turn steam turbines, generating electricity.

The plant is scheduled to go into production in 2011. It will be able to power 70,000 households while avoiding more than 400,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, according to Abengoa.

Arizona Public Service, the state's largest utility, has agreed to purchase the energy from Abengoa over the next 30 years. "This is a major milestone for Arizona in our efforts to increase the amount of renewable energy available in the United States," stated Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano. "Arizona is leading the way in protecting our world for future generations through increasing the amount of renewable energy, combating climate change, fighting for air quality and much more. This plant will offer Arizonans a clean and efficient source of energy."

[bert]

I drive all over the eastern part or the state and the farms going fallow are quite obvious. I also drive up the valley of Southwest Virginia toward West Virginia regularly.

The first indicator are the fields. The once tended fields and pastures are reverting to woodlands with wild growth. Two prime indicators are lots of small cedar trees and multiflora rose. Both are invasive and if not cut will grow quickly.

The falling down barns have vegatative growth around the machinery and all around. The old two story house, where granma lived, is is in disrepair and over grown. She died and no one lives there now.

This is not to say farms are gone. There are still well tended and presumedly productive farms.

[NicknamedBob]

"Modern Marvels had segment on green power. There’s a plan in Australia to build an even larger solar plant based on heat. The difference in projects is that instead of mirrors, they build a large concrete tube(stack) Skyscrapper tall, and put some sort of polymer skirt around the base a hundred feet or so above the ground, spread out far and wide. The sun heats the trapped air under the skirt and is directed towards the base of the stack (the skirt is higher at the base of the stack than it is towards the outer edges) where there are wind generators. Convection takes care of the rest.

Seems these two concepts could be combined. Might be interesting to see what the theoretical efficiencies could be.

Also note that in the picture above, there's a lot of room between the mirrors. Some agricultural products not requiring direct sunlight could still be grown.

[jpsb]

$1,000,000,000.00 / 30 Years = $33,333,333.33/year
$33,333,333.33/70,000 homes = $476 per year per home
Sounds pretty good to me. However I expect 1 billon does not account for operating costs or profit. So $476 is not going to happen. But even double that (or triple) still sound good.

[Reeses]

That's very interesting about the mile. I have never read these facts before.

When flying in an airplane you can often see squares of land. These are usually exactly one mile in length and the lines of the square often point out true north/south east/west. If you time the number of seconds a spot on the window takes to cross a square you can accurately calculate the mph you are traveling. If you consider the position of the sun and time of day to determine your general direction you can use the lines to accurately estimate your true heading.

Concerning this article, the cost of the land shouldn't be much of an issue because it will appreciate in value and will be sold for a profit someday. It is probably the only financially sound part of this investment.

[StACase]

If you time the number of seconds a spot on the window takes to cross a square you can accurately calculate the mph you are traveling.

I've done exactly that more than once (-:

[whd23]

I think it will amaze people to realise that we can meet the entire needs of the country with 10% of Arizona. That is better than wind power.

Ah, but how much land is required to hold the batteries needed to store energy for night time and cloudy-day use?

The trouble with wind and solar is the fact that they're not always on/always reliable. There will have to be some energy storage or these types of energy sources can't be counted on for the base supply. A more sensible proposal for energy storage is to use excess wind/solar to pump water uphill into a reservoir and then use hydro to supply power when the solar/wind isn't producing. But try getting the watermelons to allow the creation of sufficient reservoirs; the b@stards are never happy.

[NicknamedBob]

Pumping water uphill for energy storage requires a bit of land also.

What I like about the solar and wind projects is that they tend to open the possibilities of advancing our distribution and control capability, which is needed.

As to efficiencies, using a solar plant is like opening your curtains on a sunny winter day. You may not save much fossil fuel, but you will save some.

[Cvengr]

I’ve searched a little on the topic. It appears somebody has been hot on their toes seizing market share for this region.

Note, the real estate is a trade off for the cost of transmission line and for energy delivery cost over decades. So even at those unit costs, it is favorable economically to buy it now and build along the route of the 230kV major transmission lines than to wait till later.

What’s interesting is that the STEP hasn’t been delivered in a finalized model until this March. I believe they’ve run 2 and 3 passes on the model, so somebody inside the committees have been exposed to preliminary datum. As early as 97 the Devers-Palos Verdes route and the Gila River routes were considered most likely to reach capacity or require dynamic voltage support, but we’re talking about the Gila River plant being a new service of 2080MW as being calculated in the Southwest Transmission Expansion Plan (STEP, a 10yr expansion plan within the Western coordinating Council, I believe). So the additional 238MW source would only be 10% of that generating capacity.

About 4 plants in excess of 350MW capacity are being retired, while about 20 others are being installed, (ranging from about 300 to 1200MW each) in the STEP.

IMHO, a smart move capitalizing on available resources and forward thinking.

[Cvengr]

You know, what’s smart about the project is the methods of heat transfer being employed, although I think Medium temp hot water(350F) would be favorable to high temp hot water(750).

Ideally they should build it near large golf and residential subdivisions, then cogen MTHW for space heating and chilled water for air conditioning throughout the subdivisions using fan coil units. Use treated nonpotable water in their systems so potable water supplies aren’t taxed.

Build their cooling towers to look like waterfalls and set it up as a major LEEDS showplace for smaller scale projects.

Better living through modern engineering without liberal claptrap.

[NicknamedBob]

"Ideally they should build it near large golf and residential subdivisions ..."

Golf, and large mirrors?

Um, no. Bad idea ...

[Nuc1]

More feel good PC silliness.

[Cvengr]

I believe the proposed plant is going to first convert the sunlight into thermal energy, thereby allowing different mechanisms to transport and store the heat. At night or eclipse, the energy would be stored in molten salts, allowing a delta T between different closed loop systems, probably water pipes, with water at 750 degrees F, running to steam generators, which in turn would propel turbines, which would then run generators to convert the energy to electrical power. These systems are likely designed so each subsystem takes a dynamic problem and reduces the output to a stable system with fewer variables to be transferred to the next portion of the system.

Only problem with all those changes is that there is a little inefficiency in each step of the system which adds up. So one calculates the maintenance and operating costs of those alternatives and compares to find an optimized solution.

One disadvantage to this model, is that it depends upon a closed loop water system in the desert. SO in the event of a seismic event, the plant might go down, as opposed to photovoltaics which are fairly stable.

Of course such is part of the cost to produce this (Hey I think I see my house!):

[NicknamedBob]

"... cogen MTHW for space heating and chilled water for air conditioning throughout the subdivisions using fan coil units. Use treated nonpotable water in their systems so potable water supplies aren’t taxed."

One of the problems of solar power to feed an industrial base is the lack of real power. Picture an African village trying to run a factory on solar cells. That's one of the nightmare scenarios of imposing green rules on emergent economies.

This, however, could be an ideal design for a factory town, such as we saw in the late nineteenth century. But instead of smokestack industries, we would have a solar oven to produce plentiful energy for product manufacture, in a clean environment that also provides capacity for food production and comfortable living space.

If Mugabe, for example, had latched onto this, instead of his mindless fantasies for maintaining his power, he would have gone down in history as a Washington or Bolivar, instead of just another Idi Amin.

[Balding_Eagle]

I just hope everyone remembers we have to eat.

The crop prices are a daily reminder.

Farmers watch those prices and decide what to plant based on how much someone is willing to pay.

Food or fuel? Last year the focus was on fuel, this year it has shifted a bit more towards food.

[Cvengr]

One more reason for why they call it, “The Dark Continent”. (see map above).

[NicknamedBob]

“Guns, Germs, and Steel” goes into a number of reasons that people in Africa had a problem developing civilisations equivalent to the European ones. But here’s a question that occurred to me recently.

I heard that the African elephant can not be domesticated, only the Indian elephant.

What kind of elephant did Hannibal use?

[Robert A Cook PE]

280 MWatt can no be provided from one modern gas turbine combined cycle plant - at about 68% efficiency, running 24 hours every day of the year, regardless of weather and season.

A solar plant with fixed panels can produce 100% power only one hour a day (during local apparent noon), and can effectively produce usable (80+ maximum) power only from 10:00 (AM) to 14:00 (PM) in the 3 winter months, and from 09:00 to 15:00 during the hottest 3 summer months.

At least - in the desert, and at that relatively far south latitude, and with that little pollen and rainfall, only dust will cause further efficiency losses. Then again, central southern AZ is a long way from a huge power demand as well.

Again, putting up this much money for a (heavily-taxpayer-subsidized) solar plant is merely a political stunt.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Show me the math for your claim.

We can transmit electric power (with acceptable resistance losses due to current in the grid) only 500 miles. After 900 miles, almost all of the power created - from ANY power source - is lost to heat in the cables.

Show me the ground-level equations for solar energy received, and you can even assuming an unrealistic efficiency of DOUBLE today’s values, for how much area you need to supply America’s electric needs.

(And do you really think the UCS is a valid source?)

[NicknamedBob]

Answering my own question:

Hannibal used African elephants.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Thank you!

Didn’t know that.