Purpose-built hybrid solar/coal power plants gain traction in the marketplace

According to solar engineering firm Flagsol GmbH's MD Paul Nava, large coal plants could easily absorb 200 to 400 megawatts of solar-thermal power, rivaling the largest stand-alone solar-thermal power projects under construction and dwarfing the power output of photovoltaic installations.

Nava told Technology Review that the distance to the solar field should not be far off otherwise long-distance heat transfer would be costly. He also warned that even those plants with the right sun and space would not move forward until governments put a firm price on carbon emissions from coal.

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