The utility isn’t sure about the eventual winner in this battle between the two solar technologies.  

California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), which is intersted in building a portfolio of both CSP and PV, is still not sure which technology will ultimately win out, according to a report filed by news.cnet.com. 

PG&E’s SVP of energy procurement, Fong Wan, told the publication that its going to be a “really interesting and close race”. Specifically, regarding CSP, he referred to cost efficiencies through scale and storage options. In terms of challenges, he said a transmission infrastructure needs to be in place.  

Last year, in an interview with CSPToday.com, Hal LaFlash, Director of Emerging Clean Technology Policy, PG&E mentioned that transmission is the one of the biggest factors affecting CSP’s success, right after the financial aspects, including costs and tax credits. “The biggest challenge is getting the resource onto the grid.  The fact that solar only operates 25 percent of the time makes it difficult to get the best utilisation from local transmission facilities”,” he had said.  

Related links: For more on PG&E, Transmission

External link: http://social.csptoday.com/content/utility-pge-placing-bets-solar-tech-race

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