Two weeks ago I reported Solar Cell Costs Fell 21% This Year and May Be Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels and Nuclear in 3-5 Years. That was just for the top-of-the-line GE thin film collectors. These and other spectacular drops in the cost of solar collector cells, seem to be cascading through the industry.
Yesterday, NPR broadcast a fascinating story about the use of these collectors by front line US troops to replace the 40 lb of batteries, many soldiers are carrying in their backpacks.
Now, The Guardian reports this morning that Solar power's coming of age in the US. Two CEOs of American solar power companies are claiming that in certain regions of the country, solar electrical generation, is already competitive with electricity generated by nuclear power plants, and in some cases, even coal burning plants. We still need to investigate these claim more objectively, as these are CEOs of profit making companies, so I present them to you, here, with caution.
Thomas Dinwoodie and Daniel Shugar, ... were touring Washington and New York this week to argue that the cost of solar power had come down enough to make it competitive with nuclear power, new natural gas plants, even new coal plants.
"It has already happened. Solar is competitive," Dinwoodie, the founder of SunPower, the second largest US solar company, told a discussion hosted by the New America Foundation. Solar costs have fallen sharply in the last few years, because of increased production and technological advances. "Solar is ramping down in cost where it is competitive with all these other forms of energy," Dinwoodie said.
He said the cost of solar power, currently 13.9 cents a kilowatt hour, would fall to 7 cents a kilowatt hour by 2020, according to the department of energy. That would put solar prices in the range, or even cheaper, than conventional energy sources, he said.
It seems a little ambiguous if he saying it's competitive now, and will be more so in 2020, or will be in 2020, which is contradictory with the title.
Solar power generation has two dimensions. Decentralized, smaller scale rooftop, photovoltaic collectors owned and operated by homeowners, co-opts, or neighborhood consortiums, and larger scale utility run power plants. Until recently, both, suffered from cost disadvantages when compared to customer's buying electric from the grid, or utilities with the option of building coal, natural gas, or nuclear plants.
But, coal and nuclear plants, have very large hidden "external" costs, not included in the owner-operators costs. Many have insisted that if these hidden costs, such as the green house gas warming, and other detrimental effects of coal, and the risk of accidents, and generation of radioactive wastes were taken into account, solar and renewable options are already, a better choice for society. But, these arguments carry little weight, for a profit maximizing utilities, needing to manage their profit-loss and balance sheets, at their own local level.
So, solar, wind, and other renewable have faced an uphill battle, but now appear to be getting over the hump from many sources.
Here's another report of a breakthrough in a new kind of integrated combined larger scale power plant being sold now by General Electric, achieving a record breaking 70% efficiency, giving it cost advantages over previous technologies.
Rachel Layne and Chris Martin GE Wins First Solar-Gas Hybrid Plant From Turkey’s MetCap
General Electric Co. (GE) said its new turbine designed to pair gas and renewable-power generation was chosen by Turkey’s MetCap Energy Investments for the first combination solar-natural gas plant.
The site will use technology from closely held eSolar Inc., wind and the “FlexEfficiency” gas turbine GE announced last week. The combination will be able to operate at a fuel- efficiency rate of more than 70 percent, greater than the rate of 61 percent for the combined-cycle turbine alone, GE said. It also makes solar more cost-efficient.
“This will be a power plant that combines wind, natural gas and integrated combined technology under one roof,” Paul Browning, who runs thermal products at GE Energy, the world’s biggest maker of power-generation equipment, said at a Milan press conference.
The plant, to be located in Karaman, Turkey, will have a capacity of about 530 megawatts, enough to power more than 600,000 homes, MetCap Chairman Celal Metin said at the conference.
The plant will integrate GE’s 9FB gas turbine, which has a capacity of 510 megawatts and a frequency of 50 hertz; a steam turbine; a generator; GE wind-turbine power; and power from eSolar-concentrated thermal tower technology, according to a statement from the companies.
“Solar-thermal with combined-cycle power plant are the most economic there is,” Browning said in an interview. He said Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE expects more order announcements in the “weeks and months ahead.”
General Electric is expecting this newly created division to be profitable already by the second half of 2012. GE, is a widely followed industry leaders so competitors, are expected to follow this new direction.
What an amazing series of breakthrough reports we have been hearing. Progress has been occurring so quickly, many comparative economic reports based on data from years ago, are already out of date.
So, I do not know fully understand all the intricacies of the cost-comparison debates, which I am learning as quickly as I can.
Still, the benefit to society, of reducing our generation of CO2, and radioactive wastes is great enough, we should pay more attention to these emerging new options.
Also, this is the second publication of our new Kosowatt group to encourage renewable, and sustainable energy generation options. Please check out first edition from yesterday.
Senator Sanders Finds a GOP Ally for His 10 Million Solar Roofs Bill
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