This week’s CSP Today news brief includes the following companies and organisations: Australian Renewable Energy Agency, RATCH-Australia Corporation, Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding PCL, Transfield Services; The University of Queensland; The California Energy Commission, BrightSource Energy; Aalborg CSP, Cargo Power and Infrastructure.

Australia explores deployment of CST via hybrid projects

The Australian Government is taking an initiative to accelerate the deployment of concentrating solar thermal through hybrid projects.

The government, through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s (ARENA) Emerging Renewables Programme, will invest in a feasibility study that is investigating the conversion of Collinsville Power Station into a hybrid gas/solar thermal plant. The government has chosen to contribute A$2.5 million towards a RATCH-Australia Corporation (RAC) initiated feasibility study. RAC, owned by Thai power generation company, Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding PCL, and Transfield Services, owns the Collinsville plant.

The study, with a total cost of A$5.6 million, will assess the viability of converting Queensland’s 180 MW coal-fired Collinsville Power Station to a 30 MW hybrid solar thermal/gas power station with the help of ARENA. The study is expected to be complete in early 2015.

The results of the study will be made publically available in order to assist interested parties overcome the challenges of early deployment of concentrating solar thermal. Such information will include the overall technical feasibility of converting thermal coal fired power stations to solar thermal plants, its costs, the solar yield, network connection and other issues, said the Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson.

RATCH will examine the feasibility of using Novatec Solar’s Linear Fresnel Solar Thermal technology to generate steam to be used in a steam turbine at the Collinsville Power Station.

RAC to partner with University of Queensland

The University of Queensland (UQ) will assist RATCH-Australia Corporation assess the viability of converting the coal-fired Collinsville Power Station to a hybrid solar thermal / gas power station.
RAC will partner with UQ in the A$5.6 million feasibility study.

RAC will partner with UQ to better understand factors impacting on the feasibility, including yield and dispatch forecasting, cleaning requirements, power system stability and transient effects, energy economics and fossil fuel boiler integration

The University mentioned that the project will generate critical information relating to the overall technical, economic and environmental viability of coal fired plant conversion.

The 180MW Collinsville power station was built in 1968, and refurbished in 1998. Under the new plans, it will become a 30MW gas / solar thermal plant.

Saudi Arabia gears up to meet its renewable energy target

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has unveiled its renewable energy Competitive Procurement Programme (CPP) for renewable energy.

The programme has been designed applying best practices from similar procurements worldwide, and customised to meet KSA’s energy mix targets. Multiple procurement rounds preceded by an Introductory Round are being envisioned over the first 2-3 years of the programme. A standalone government-backed entity, the Sustainable Energy Procurement Company (SEPC), is being set up that is going to responsible for administering the procurement and executing and managing the PPAs.

The target for the CPP is in line with the broader renewable energy targets of 54 GW by 2032.

Each procurement round will follow a similar pattern, including a request for qualification (RFQ) prior to the launch of the request for proposal (RFP). A technical workshop will be held for registered proponents, where they will have the opportunity to comment on the draft RFP and draft power purchase agreement before they are formally issued.

During the Introductory Round, CSP plants will be required to provide a minimum of 4 hours of storage. In subsequent rounds, the minimum amount of storage required may increase based on assessment of technical and economic feasibility. Where CSP proposals are priced equivalently, but one project provides greater storage capacity, the project with the higher storage capacity will be selected.

CEC to conduct prehearing conference for BrightSource’s project

The California Energy Commission (CEC) is set to conduct its prehearing conference and evidentiary hearings for BrightSource Energy’s proposed 500MW Hidden Hills Solar Electric Generating System.

The prehearing conference will be held on February 26 in Tecopa, California. It will evaluate parties, including the staff and the applicant, readiness for the evidentiary hearings. The committee reviewing the project will identify areas of agreement or dispute and discuss the schedule and procedures needed to conclude the certification process. The evidentiary hearings, to be conducted on March 12 in Shoshone, California, will establish the factual record upon which the Commission will decide the case, based on written or documentary evidence from the official parties to the proceeding.

The project consists of two 250-MW solar plants. Each plant would have about 85,000 heliostats.

Aalborg CSP’s steam generation system promises to bring LCOE down

Aalborg CSP has highlighted that it is setting new standards for steam generation with its projects in India. The company’s newest steam generation system is being supplied for a couple of projects – a 25MWe project for Cargo Power and Infrastructure and the 50MWe Godawari CSP Project - in India.

According to the company, its offering can reduce levelised cost of energy or LCOE of CSP plants by 5-8%.

One of the highlights of the system is its no leakage design and this paves way for reduction in O&M costs owing to leakages. The company, referring to the fact that leakages can be the major reasons for stoppages associated with parabolic trough CSP plants, says there is no need to accept leakages in the steam generation system. Another highlight of this steam generation system relates with guaranteeing a high gradient at 9°C/min, paving way for quick ramp-up time every morning and at transient clouds. This can ensure an increase of daily operational time by up to 5% increasing daily revenue accordingly.