Morocco gets $519 million World Bank loan for solar power project

Morocco has secured a USD$519 million loan from the World Bank to partly finance two solar power plants with a combined capacity of up to 350 megawatts (MW). This is the second phase of the 500 MW Ouarzazate project, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday 1st.

Moroccan Solar Energy Agency Masen said consortiums led by Spain's Abengoa , GDF's International Power and ACWA Power of Saudi Arabia had been pre-selected for the 200 MW (Noor II) tender. The three groups are also pre-qualified for the 100 MW (Noor III) tender, along with another consortium led by Electricite de France.

The World Bank is providing USD$400 million directly, while the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) will grant USD$119 million. German state-owned bank KFW will be the largest lender for the two plants as it has granted Morocco USD$824 million. The African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Commission and European Investment Bank are financing the remaining amount.

The authority has chosen parabolic mirror technology for the 200 MW concentrated solar plant, while the 100 MW plant, will be built as a solar power tower.

The U.S. Energy Department Announces $25 Million to Lower Cost of Concentrating Solar Power

In a statement released by the U.S. Energy Department on October 1st, David Danielson, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy says that: "Investments to improve the efficiency and lower the costs of concentrating solar power technologies enhance our ability to deliver affordable solar-generated electricity to American families and businesses”.

It also indicates that key components targeted for advancements include solar collectors, receivers, thermal energy storage systems, heat transfer fluids, and other technologies that will lower operations and maintenance costs or achieve system-wide cost efficiencies.

The Energy Department funding builds on SunShot’s work to advance solar energy technologies and make solar energy more affordable. The SunShot Initiative partners with industry, national laboratories, and universities to drive innovations in CSP technologies to make solar energy fully cost-competitive with traditional energy sources by the end of the decade.

Mitsubishi Hitachi to research a Fresnel-tower hybrid CSP system

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) has been contracted by the Japanese Ministry of Environment to develop an innovative CSP concept, combining Fresnel and tower technologies.

After the initial engineering, a pilot plant is expected to be built at the MHPS’ Yokohama site by 2016. The hybrid solar tower system (HSTS) will use the Fresnel solar field as a low-temperature evaporator, while the tower will act as a super heater.

The project aims to take advantage of the best features of both technologies: while Fresnel offers a lower cost providing low temperature steam; tower is best suited to achieve higher temperatures.

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems is a joint venture formed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Hitachi, integrating thermal power generation systems and other related businesses.

CSP-based project “The Solar Hourglass” wins 2014 Land Art Generator Initiative competition

Argentina-based designer Santiago Muros Cortés won the 2014 Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) design competition, with his plan for a gigantic solar hourglass that could produce enough electricity to power hundreds of homes.

The annual LAGI competition asks designers to envision how public art and renewable energy can be combined to engage citizens, nature and the urban environment. Santiago Muros Cortés' ‘The Solar Hourglass’ was chosen from three hundred entries submitted by interdisciplinary teams from 55 countries.

Planned for a former shipyard site in Copenhagen’s Harbour, the hourglass structure comprises two curving dishes built primarily out of recycled steel and aluminium extrusion. The heliostats in the upper dish direct light towards a central reflector, which produces a concentrated beam of solar heat that radiates down to the lower dish. The 1960 square-metre energy generator is expected to concentrate enough heat to produce an annual capacity of 7,500 MWh, while also serving as a visual reminder that “energy is just as important as time” and should not be wasted.