Posted on 03/01/2008 3:28:56 AM PST by 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."
Elsewhere on the bill it says "price to compare" is 3.873 cents per KWH
We have a good source of energy, oil and fission. Its proven and our infrastructure already supports it.
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Agreed ,, coal (with scrubbers) is clean , cheap and abundant.. and nuclear is just flat wonderful... I see no need to do a project like this when a modern nuclear plant can generate many times the power for decades without interruption at a lower per kw cost. I’d like to reserve oil for things other than power generation... and drill like crazy to get more of it.
Because of the wonders of government regulation no new nuclear power plants will be built. Ironically they could be built for less than this solar project without all the regulations whose only purpose is to make it impossible to build a new plant.
http://www.phyast.pitt.edu/~blc/book/chapter9.html
“Several large nuclear power plants were completed in the early 1970s at a typical cost of $170 million, whereas plants of the same size completed in 1983 cost an average of $1.7 billion, a 10-fold increase. Some plants completed in the late 1980s have cost as much as $5 billion, 30 times what they cost 15 years earlier.”
Maybe it’s your stove and washer/dryer. I know people who run their oven and washer every day. I wash 3 or 4 loads every 2 weeks and I run the dryer on low heat followed by no heat (since the dry air from the house dries the clothes). Stove is propane or I cook on the wood stove. Fridge is about 6 years old. I have CFL’s and I leave 3 of them on all the time outside. Any bulbs that I turn on and off are 60w incandescent. I have one 60w incandescent in the LR paired with a CFL that I leave on all evening.
The three of us have about 6 loads of dishes, and maybe 10-12 loads of laundry. I don’t handle that really so don’t know how she does it. Even when I was single sharing a 1000sq ft apartment with another guy though with NO laundry here it was close to $70/month for electricity. I have a 500w power supply computer I have on for 6-7 hours a day though which I’m sure doesn’t help either but most other folks here in my area have about the same power bill.
Those are some eye-opening #s.
“Those are some eye-opening #s.”
I’m always surprised at how much I can learn with a little research. We could be essentially free from foreign oil if we built more nuclear plants. Without the BS regulations we could build a known source for the same price as this glass factory.
A nuclear plant built for the same price would provide more energy than this place will.
related news story: http://www.nvdaily.com/news/291101751208895.bsp
If you lived in Gila Bend you should have seen farming there; there is farming along the rivers in the desert- not sure how you missed it. Farming is what caused Phoenix and many other desert towns in Arizona to be settled- at least the ones on the Gila and Salt Rivers. There is still a lot of farming in the Valley- but much of it has had houses built on it. When real estate gets high enough that the farmer cannot possibly make that much in a life time- they sell. I don’t blame them- it is their land after all; but still I wonder if we should be converting farm land to other uses. Future generations will need to eat. It is mostly desert that is true and that is why it annoys me that they diverted farm ground for this project. Miles and miles of desert and they just have to put this in an alfalfa field? Why?
That sounds about right. I think mine is somewhere near the break even point, it might even be turning a profit (sort of, I’m not allowed to sell ‘excess’ power back to PG&E) by now.
You amaze me. You managed to find yet another problem to go with a solution. Impressive, young Skywalker!
FWIW, the thought that my array might not make it through an earthquake didn't stop me from installing it...
I don't get it either. Given that the 'fuel' is free, and at any given moment roughtly a kW/m2 is available on a goodly portion of the planet, just how efficient does a system to harvest it need to be???
It has the same charm as discussing how much money we need for the schools or welfare with a liberal.
No amount is enough, ever.
Damn! I’m moving to Warren County.
Ooooooooooo!
Thanks!
Agreed, it's just too darn useful as a chemical feedstock!
Maine's Public Advocate, Richard Davies, said the sale will benefit Maine ratepayers and citizens in a number of ways.
"The companies are committed to state energy efficiency and energy conservation programs that have the potential of reducing the amounts of electricity customers need to purchase," Davies said.
He also said that "because Iberdrola is one of the largest and best financed utilities in the world, and is interested in investing in renewable energy projects such as wind energy, we believe they will make investments that will create jobs and economic activity in Maine."
Davies said Maine customers will not be charged for the "acquisition premium" or the transaction costs Iberdrola paid to purchase Energy East and Central Maine Power. Central Maine customers also will be held harmless for any increase in CMP's cost of debt caused by Iberdrola's financial status.Iberdrola's previous acquisition of Scottish Power gave it ownership of Oregon-based PPM Energy, which operates several wind farms in the U.S.
Maine's Public Advocate, Richard Davies, said the sale will benefit Maine ratepayers and citizens in a number of ways.
"The companies are committed to state energy efficiency and energy conservation programs that have the potential of reducing the amounts of electricity customers need to purchase," Davies said.
He also said that "because Iberdrola is one of the largest and best financed utilities in the world, and is interested in investing in renewable energy projects such as wind energy, we believe they will make investments that will create jobs and economic activity in Maine."
Davies said Maine customers will not be charged for the "acquisition premium" or the transaction costs Iberdrola paid to purchase Energy East and Central Maine Power. Central Maine customers also will be held harmless for any increase in CMP's cost of debt caused by Iberdrola's financial status.
driftdiver ~ I believe you are referring to Jules Vern’s BOOK. I’d like to see you go to the moon using his technology.
I believe Jules Verne never set foot in Hollywood, nor made a single film in france, for that matter...
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4689519.html
Sorry for the mess above..stange.
I was trying to show that Iberdrola, another Spanish energy related company has purchased CMP in Maine, buiding a wind farm in N.H. purchased Scottish power as well.
Spanish owned energy companies seem to be in the forefront, where is the U.S. in their R&D?
http://www.iberdrola.es/wcorp/corporativa/iberdrola?IDPAG=ENINICIO
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