Phoenix firm to build huge solar farm
This 20-year power purchase agreement is being lauded as an unprecedented event in the history of alternative power because of its size and scope. Once completed, the solar farm in barren desert 70 miles north of Los Angeles will produce pollution-free and renewable energy at costs comparable to fossil fuel plants.The solar farm is slated to produce 500 megawatts of power from 20,000 25-kilowatt Stirling solar dishes that are 38 feet tall. The project includes an option where the farm could be expanded to 850 megawatts and 34,000 dishes.
Some of the construction of the solar dishes will be done by Schuff Steel in Phoenix. The company and Stirling worked to produce the current design of the solar dish. Once Schuff and other manufacturers produce parts for the dishes, they will be shipped to California to the farm site for construction and installation.
Under the terms of the power purchase agreement, which is subject to California Public Utilities Commission approval, Stirling will own and operate the plant, and SCE will purchase kilowatt hours at an undisclosed price.
"This is a breakthrough event for solar energy," said Stirling Chief Executive Bruce Osborn. "This is the world's most efficient solar technology."
Stirling's concentrated solar dish -- unlike photovoltaic panels that collect sunlight on a much smaller scale -- harnesses heat from the sun with 82 mirrors and reflects it toward a series of hydrogen-filled tubes that expand when heated. The expanding gas cycles back and forth from cold to hot, and its movement powers a piston that creates up to 25 kilowatts of power.
Stirling has been working toward this major commercial agreement for nearly a decade after years of research, development and testing. But the history of this form of solar power generation goes back much further.
The technology originally was developed by McDonnell Douglas in the 1970s during the energy crisis. But as energy costs stayed low in the 1980s, McDonnell eventually lost interest and sold the technology to Southern California Edison.
Stirling bought the technology from SCE in 1996 for $180,000 and since has pumped millions of dollars in research into the project. Now, SCE has taken the lead role in providing solar power in the U.S.
California law requires that by 2017, 20 percent of power generated from state utilities must be from renewable sources. SCE Senior Vice President of Power Procurement Pedro Pizarro said the company already reached the 18 percent mark last year, and the Stirling deal will push it significantly further into the renewable energy market.
"This is a great fit for our customers because we'll be producing the most power when it's needed the most -- during the peak load hours in the middle of the day," he said.
Pizarro said Stirling responded to a renewable power solicitation request from SCE late in 2003 that led to this new agreement. SCE, which has more than 4.6 million customer accounts in central and Southern California, is a subsidiary of Edison International.
In late 2006, a demonstration stage with 40 dishes producing 1 megawatt of power will begin. If that runs without a hitch, as Pizarro expects, the rest of the farm will be built beginning in 2008.
The cost of all this solar power is expected to be very close to the cost of traditional fossil fuel sources.
"In general, renewable power sources can be more expensive, but the environmental benefits can outweigh additional costs," Pizarro said.
Brad Collins, executive director of the 50-year-old American Solar Energy Society, said when taking into consideration growing pollution taxes, solar power can end up less expensive to produce than fossil fuels.
He called the Stiring/SCE deal "terrific news."
"This will be the biggest installation the world has seen," he said. "The world is beginning to understand that there can be utility-sized solar applications."
Collins said a 70-megawatt solar farm is planned for Colorado, and utility-sized solar sites also are being built in Spain and Australia. He estimated that it could cost roughly a quarter-billion dollars to construct and install every 50 megawatts of solar power -- but the pollution-free and renewable source pays for itself over time with little maintenance.
Osborn said over the course of the solar farm's construction, Stirling -- now a company of 30 -- could expand its employee count by hundreds of people. As many as 1,500 people could be contracted during the construction and installation phase, Osborn added.
While this is Stirling's first major commercial deal, Osborn said the company is talking to other utilities.
"We've spoken with a number of major utilities in the Southwest, including some in Arizona," he said. "Hopefully, the California deal will lead to more."
This technology could be an inexpensive way for Thailand to meet the goal of 200 MW of solar electricity.