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<\/p>\nInvested and co-owned by Google, NRG Energy and BrightSource, Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System was once recognized as a landmark of concentrated solar power (CSP) projects. However, it not only scorches birds, but also fails to generate as much power as anticipated. As more and more CSP projects being closed, it seems to reveal some fundamental problems and indicate a bad end to those projects, including Ivanpah.<\/p>\n
Situating at Mojave Desert, California, Ivanpah Plant was aided by a US$1.6 billion federal loan guarantee and was started commercial operation before the last day of 2013. Ivanpah was expected to generate one million (or more) MWh per year, but its three units generated only 254,263 MWh of electricity from January to August, 2014. This fact translates into a one-quarter of the annual target for two thirds of a year \u2013 a substantial gap falling behind the anticipation.<\/p>\n
So, here is the question: SUPPOSE that the meteorological situation in 2014 is the main problem to Ivanpah, can we forecast a sunny year in 2015 or any one in the future? Although BrightSource confessed that there are equipment challenges which impacted plant availability and revealed improvement processes, it is still unclear about solutions to the natural changes.<\/p>\n
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Ivanpah shall generate clean and renewable electricity, but it consumes more gas than anticipated. In the early morning, the gas fuel is used with auxiliary boilers that prime the system so that the plant can begin generating power as soon as possible after sunrise. However, the auxiliary boilers need to operate around 4.5 hours a day \u2013the originally expected duration was only 1 hour.<\/p>\n
Longer operation ironically brings higher CO2 emissions and more gas fuel consumption. EIA\u2019s data shows that gas fuel consumed by Ivanpah \u2013 1,575 mmcf of gas estimated — can generate 200,000MWh of electricity but contributes a little to the CSP plant\u2019s clean energy. In addition, the low electricity production leads a period of ROI<\/a> to more than 25 years, which is non-profitable. BrightSource tries to defend that further modifications are necessary for more reliable and meaningful power production, Ivanpah\u2019s uncertainty and performances somehow implies that the tower CSP technology<\/a> is not as promising as it was predicted.<\/p>\n Source: http:\/\/pv.energytrend.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Invested and co-owned by Google, NRG Energy and BrightSource, Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System was once recognized as a landmark of concentrated solar power (CSP) projects. However, it not only scorches birds, but also fails to generate as much power … Continue reading