Solar Thermal Power + New Direct Current Electric Grid Could Make US Renewable Energy World Leader
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY 
on 01.12.09
photo: Ausra
Fred Pearce has framed his latest opinion piece in Yale Environment 360 as one about Europe fiddling around with its climate change commitment (with German Chancellor Angela Merkel as lead violin), while the US is poised to reengage with the world under the Obama administration. What it’s really about though is what the US would need to do to take that lead, and it all has to do with renewable energy. Though some of this may be recap for avid TreeHugger readers, it’s worth repeating:
Stephen Chu Appointment a Good Sign
Beyond his stated commitment to dealing with climate change during the campaign, Pearce indicates that the appointment of Stephen Chu as energy secretary is the real sign that the US could soon lead the renewable energy/climate change race. Not only has he done pioneering research on solar power, energy efficiency and cellulosic biofuels at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, he’s also an advocate of a nationwide expansion of the electric grid to bring renewable energy from where it’s most easily generated (west of the Mississippi) to where the greatest demand is (east of the river).
Solar Thermal = 90% of US Power on 10% of Nevada’s Land
In terms of technology, Pearce cites solar thermal power, deployed across swaths of desert in the West, as being the thing that really could make a dent in lower the US’s carbon emissions: By some accounts 40,000 MW of electricity could be generated this way; 90% of the US’s electricity could be generated by using a mere 10% of the Nevada desert. But only if distribution exists to bring it out of the desert; that would come in the form of a new direct-current transmission system using superconducting materials.
US Action Could Spur Europe, Aid Chinese Manufacturers
Pretty standard talking points these days, but this is how Pearce brings it back to Europe and extends it to East Asia:
This is not just about the United States. The technology that drives America usually ends up driving the world. If Obama goes for a smart super-grid, you can almost guarantee that Merkel and her fellow Europeans will suddenly get more enthusiastic about a super-grid scheme quietly being promoted there to hook up to solar energy from the Sahara desert. A grander version would also tap geothermal energy from Iceland, hydropower from Scandinavia, and wind power from the North Sea.And China? Whisper it quietly, but China is already the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines. Any industrialist sitting in China and watching the U.S. government open its wallet to rebuild the country’s energy infrastructure will be thinking contracts, contracts, contracts. China will want to manufacture the wind turbines and solar panels and superconducting cables.
As TreeHugger has said before, Barack Obama has an overstuffed environmental suggestion box has been full for some time now. Once he’s actually in office we’ll have to see if he rises to the level of his own rhetoric and give some pushes and reminders if he starts falling short.
Read all of the original article: As Europe Fiddles, US May Take Lead on Climate Change
Solar Thermal Power
Solar Thermal Power in North Africa: How Much Land to Power the World?
850 MW Solar Thermal Power Plant Seeks California Approval
Ausra Opens First US Solar Thermal Power Plant in Bakersfield, California
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So much simpler than photovoltaic, although more labor-intensive. (With people out of work, that's actually a plus!)
These could balance wind farm supply on the grid, because often when one is not working, the other enjoys optimum conditikons.
Also, on a large enough scale, these could not only supplant carbon-intensive sources, they could, by converting IR to motion, mitigate climate chinage.
The irony is the recent stories about gas shortages all over Europe thanks to the Russians cutting off supplies. The EU would do well to throw whatever money it can at attempting to keep Gazprom (aka Putin)'s influence as limited as possible and get off the Russian dependence. Small wonder why folks have suggested renewable energy is a National Security issue.
To clarify one myth perpetuated by the anti-solar crowd (and often swallowed whole by pro-solar people like Roy, above), the latest production (we're not talking prototypes anymore) solar-thermal plants do not need all sun, all the time to produce power. They take sunshine when it's available and store its heat for later use. It takes about 3 consecutive days of no new heat input to shut down these plants. Now consider that Las Vegas gets 300 sunny days a year, and you'll notice that Nevada desert solar-thermal power plants won't be shutting down very often, if at all.
Even with today's grid, solar-thermal plants could easily power all of the Southwest, which houses a significant percentage of the US population. There's no reason not to start right now.
Ernie - to an extent. I doubt that there's gonna be a need for buffering and storage. I'm confident the grid will suck up all the power these things can make as soon as they make it.
"...a new direct-current transmission system using superconducting materials."
And when do we expect someone will invent a material that Superconducts in 110 degree heat?
I'm glad to see solar thermal being proposed. On a large scale it certainly seems to be much more efficient. More of these are popping up, in Egypt, Iran, and I'm sure many more in sunny parts of the world. Another major factor to consider is that the pollution generated in manufacturing solar thermal equipment is much less that with PV, because it is generally much simpler to produce.
Tony
10% of Nevada's desert is a lot of land. Depending on what you choose to call desert, that can include almost the whole state, Superconducting transmission lines? Show me. Still though, solar thermal could supply a lot of our electricity. DB
Solar Thermal is the dark horse in alternative energy. It is simple, effective, and affordable - so boring.
I have seen no convincing arguments that this technology is not useful today, everywhere on earth. As a small scale home device, or large scale utility, the benefits will remain.
The cost of sunlight remains a fairly steady rate -$ 0.0 - hard to beat.
tesla would turn in his grave. DC transmission lines - what next...
lol
Obviously this is better than coal-fired power plants, but it ties us even more to large-scale generation systems. I hope that any move we make towards a mega-scale solar thermal system for the US is part of a coordinated effort to significantly reduce demand. If all we do is replace current supply with greener sources, we will have missed the biggest opportunity. And we'll use way more land, and way more fossil fuels building the solar thermal installations, than if we start with some serious conservation measures.
I cut my own home energy use to less than a quarter my provincial average for a household of four - without buying any fancy technology other than a Kill-A-Watt meter to figure out where my electricity was getting used. If there were proper incentives (read full-cost accounting of electricity prices) in place, and a bit more funding for home energy audit subsidies to help people figure out how to conserve, we could close down many coal fired power plants for good before a single new solar thermal plant opens.
Fix the demand side first. It's usually cheaper than fixing the supply side.
Considering that the biosphere and weather system operate on the same principles as a heat engine, it is essential to consider reforestation and restoration of watersheds. Such steps would mitigate local climate excesses, which would reduce demands for heating and a/c.
Listen to what Robin is saying above. It's important!
Also, listen to Micheal Pollan; "eat food, not too much, mostly plants".
I also like solar thermal power, but the idea that it can or should be the primary source of energy for the region or country can only be put forth by people entirely unfamiliar with the electric utility system.
Purely from an environmental perspective, you would be talking about removing tens to hundreds of GWs of heat out of the region and converting it into electrical energy, cooling the Southwest.
I don't know if there would be any real environmental impact or if it would be for the better or worse, but it would need to be studied.
I appreciates the good intentions of this article and many of the comments left by people, but there is no way anyone would adopt a project that takes 10% of the Nevada desert no matter how remote the site would be. Its just bad use of investment capital and time. Solar thermal system still have a relatively low efficiency compared to other technologies with serious concerns about optimizing the heat transfer fluid being used and the energy storage techniques being used accompanying the system.
The true solution must come from utilizing a high density energy source with serious efforts to improve efficiency. This however still requires some substantial research to achieve on a large scale capacity.
A transitional solution must be put into place now to start the process but a large scale solar thermal plant is not such a solution.
Robin says "Fix the demand side first. It's usually cheaper than fixing the supply side."
and it is true that the typical payback is 5 to 1 or more which means that it will cost folks 5 times more money for renewable energy (such as home solar PV or wind turbines) compared to the cost of upgrading/improving efficiencies of appliances and energy loads.
However we should be expecting that overall electricity demands are going to appreciably increase as our country moves away from petroluem based transportations to one featuring plug-ins and PHEVs.
" "And when do we expect someone will invent a material that Superconducts in 110 degree heat?"
Ummmm - no!
But I can show you construction methods and materials which will protect the superconducting materials and reduce the effects of exterior heat to a reasonable temperature for superconducting materials to work."
....................................................................................................
Superconducting materials don't work at reasonable temperatures - they work at very, very cold temps. You could Insulate and refrigerate superconducting power lines, but that would take a LOT of energy and capital because we are likely talking about tens of thousands of miles of transmission lines.
Better idea: throw other renewables and nuclear (get over it) into the mix along with solar thermal-- just my 2 cents
"And when do we expect someone will invent a material that Superconducts in 110 degree heat?"
Already done. A supergrid is cooled by liquid hydrogen, shipping power as electricity AND hydrogen. Designs have already been field tested and are ready to deploy. The hydrogen comes from steam electrolysis, much more efficient than water electrolysis. Do a search on supergrid, you should get results from the UKs Sahara CSP project, UK wind projects and some nuclear projects.