Energy Services Bulletin, Vol. 23, No. 5, October 2004

Topics from the Power Line
Find solar technology and finance information online


Editor's note: The Energy Services Bulletin features real answers to real questions posed to our staff at the Energy Services Power Line. We hope you find it useful.

Question:
We are currently working on gathering some solar data. Do you have any information or resources on the following topics:

  • Projected efficiency improvements for solar technologies, photovoltaic and concentrating solar (including dishes, troughs and power towers); and projected years for achieving those goals with continued research and development.
  • Capital cost information for solar technologies mentioned above.

Answer:
The Power Line did an extensive search on emerging solar technologies and costs, and came up with several excellent resources that you should find useful.

U.S. DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solar Energy Technologies Program gives an overview on developing solar technologies. Within this site, Photovoltaic Systems Technology Development addresses technology status and costs in a general way.

Check out Concentrating Solar Power and Sun Lab, a joint program of Sandia and National Renewable Energy Laboratories, focusing on activities in the area of concentrating solar power. Research and Development Advances in Concentrating Solar Power looks at technology improvements and costs.

An overview of equipment costs and business and market opportunities also can be found here. In addition, there is information about markets for CSP including capital costs on troughs, power towers and solar dishes or engines.

SolarPACES is the International Energy Agency's program for CSP economics and financing. Information specific to CSP plant costs is available at this site.

A U.S. DOE planning process produced the Trough Technology Roadmap. Technology roadmapping is a needs-driven planning process that helps identify, select and develop technology alternatives to satisfy a set of product needs.

Reports and presentations look at financial side of solar
Papers and presentations that examine the financial aspects of solar technologies are also available online. The Commercial Path Forward for CSP Technologies, by Frederick Morse of Morse Associates, Inc., discusses the steps needed to bring the technology to market. Morse is a consultant for government agencies and utilities on the application of and markets for renewable energy.

Due-diligence Study of Parabolic Trough and Power Tower Technologies, by Hank Price for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is a PowerPoint presentation that includes capital costs for specific projects.

Presented at the 1999 conference, Renewable and Advanced Energy Systems for the 21st Century, Parabolic Trough Solar Power for Competitive U.S. Markets looks at what is necessary for large-scale parabolic trough solar powerplants to compete with U.S. state-of-the-art fossil power technology in a competitive U.S. power market.

Finally, Western’s Renewable Energy Program Manager Randy Manion can provide technical support and expert contacts. E-mail him or call 720-962-7423. Manion also produces the Green Power and Market Research News, a newsletter about these and other renewable technologies for Western. It is available on-line at or by e-mail. Western’s Renewables Web page also lists several resources.