# Role of CSP in Reducing CO 2 

### EPA Region 9 Briefing May 7, 2015 Frank (Tex) Wilkins

Executive Director

CSP Alliance 

# Concentrating Solar Power Alliance

Abengoa BrightSource Cone Drive Lointek Wilson Solarpower

# Agenda

• CSP Overview

• CSP : a Keystone to Success for CAA 111(d) Regulation

• DOE Technical Assistance: modeling 111(d) portfolios



# • Summary of CSPA Comments to EPA on Potential 111(d) Guidelines

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# Overview

CSP Provides:

• Flexible, Dispatchable Renewable Power

• Large Quantities of Carbon

- Free Power

• Ability to Integrate High Levels of Renewables

• Solutions for Any CAA 111(d) Approach Whether Through:

• Stand

- alone Facilities or

• Hybridized Fossil

- Fired Power Plants



# • Proven, Commercially

- Deployed Technology

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# CSP

- A Different Kind of Solar

Concentrating Solar Power (or “Solar Thermal Electric”):

• Sun’s Energy is “Fuel” for Conventional Turbines

• Mirrors Concentrate Sunlight to Create Heat

• Heat Boils Water to Make Steam

• Steam Spins Turbine Blades, Creating Grid

- Friendly Power

• Cost

- Effectively Integrates Thermal Energy Storage



# • Proven Technology

• Invented Over 100 Years Ago,

• In Worldwide Commercial Use



# • Two Primary Technologies: Trough & Tower

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# Parabolic Trough Technology

• Parabolic trough technology uses long moveable parabolic mirrors, with an absorber tube

located along the center at the focal point

. Sunlight is reflected by the mirror and concentrated

on the absorber tube

.

• Heat transfer fluid, comprised of oil or molten salts, flows through the tube to absorb the

concentrated sunlight

. The heat transfer fluid is then used to heat steam in a turbine/generator

.

• Trough systems are sensitive to economies of scale and estimated to be most cost effective at

100 MW or greater

.

• Solar concentration : 75 suns | Operating temp : 730 ° F

• Commercially proven

, able to integrate thermal energy storage with molten salt

5• Power towers use an array of flat, moveable mirrors, called heliostats, to focus the sun's rays

onto a receiver at the top of a central tower

. The energy in the receiver is transferred to a heat transfer fluid (salt or steam) which is used to heat steam in a turbine/generator

.

• Molten salt allows solar energy from daylight hours to be stored to generate steam throughout the evening

. The high operating temperature enables less expensive storage

.

• Due to power block requirements, power towers are sensitive to economies of scale and are typically most economical at 100 MW or more

.

• Solar concentration : 800 suns | Operating temperature : 1040 ° F

• Commercially proven, able to integrate thermal energy storage with molten salts 

# Power Tower Technology

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# U.S. CSP Plants Through 2012 (almost all in Region 9)

Name or location Utility State Size Technology Began operation Company

SEGS SCE California 354 MW Parabolic trough 1985

- 1991 NextEra Energy

Saguaro APS Arizona 1 MW Parabolic trough 2006 Acciona

Nevada Solar One NVEnergy Nevada 64 MW Parabolic trough 2007 Acciona

Kimberlina PG&E California 5 MW Linear Fresnel 2008 Ausra/AREVA

Sierra Sun tower SCE California 5 MW Power tower 2009 eSolar

Keahole Solar demo HELCO Hawaii 7 MW Parabolic trough 2009/2011 Sopogy

Maricopa Solar demo SRP Arizona 1 MW Dish/engine 2010 SES / Tessera Solar

Cameo hybrid Xcel Colorado 2 MW Trough add

- on to coal 2010 Abengoa

Martin Solar Energy Ctr. FPL Florida 75 MW Trough add

- on to
Combined Cycle 2010 NextEra Energy



### Total in Operation

-- 514 MW

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# New U.S. CSP Plants (all in Region 9)

Solana Ivanpah Genesis Crescent

Dunes Mojave

Technology Trough w/ 6 hrs storage Towers (Steam) Trough Tower (Salt)

w/ 10 hrs
storage Trough

Capacity (MW, gross) 280 392 280 110 280

Location Arizona California California Nevada California

DOE Loan

Guarantee $1.45B $1.6B $0.85B $0.74B $1.2B

Completion 2013 2014 2014 2015 2014

Developer Abengoa BrightSource NextEra Solar Reserve Abengoa



### Total New CSP Capacity Deployed = over 1,300 MW

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# CSP: Large Quantities of Carbon

- free Power

The US Southwest provides the excellent solar resource ideal for CSP plants

- some of the best solar resource in the world

Potential : DOE estimates CSP could provide 28 GW of power by 2030 and 83 GW by 2050*

* SunShot Vision Study, energy.gov/sites/prod/files/SunShot%20Vision%20Study.pdf, February 2011

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## EPA Region 9 includes the

southwestern states with the best solar resource (California, Nevada, and Arizona). Hawaii has a very good solar

resource.

# Keystone to Success for CAA 111(d )

CSP Uniquely Achieves 2 Critical Objectives :

• Increasing Renewable Energy Without Increasing CO 2 

## & Criteria

Pollutant Emissions from “ Peaker” Plants

• Intermittent renewables, like PV and wind, require backup and “ramping” power that must be dispatched as needed to maintain reliability

• By displacing peaker plants otherwise needed for reliability, CSP avoids the high carbon and criteria pollutant emissions these plants produce



## • Maintaining Reliability Without Added Emissions

• CSP uses conventional turbines, providing reliability services the grid depends on from “rotating mass”

- again displacing conventional power

• Provide dependable capacity, due to presence of thermal energy storage, to meet critical peak and ramping needs

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# CSP and CO 2 

# Reduction

– Enabling Renewables

Enabling Higher Renewable Portfolio Standards

• High penetration of intermittent wind and solar requires flexible power to respond

• Reduced coincidence of the solar resource and demand

– as PV power increases, peak demand shifts to the evening, creating steep “ramps” requiring flexible power to respond

• Conventional flexible power emits carbon and criteria pollutants, and can be expensive and highly inefficient

74000 76000 78000 80000 82000 84000 86000 88000 90000 92000

12 14 16 18 20 22

Hour (Ending)Net Load

Normal Load

2%

5%

10%

15%

Source: NREL Source: CAISO PV

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## Very low curtailment

at 30% solar penetration

Higher penetration of solar AND greater penetration of PV

due to additional flexibility provided by CSP 

# CSP and CO 2 

# Reduction

- Enabling Renewables

Source: NREL

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# Flexible Answer for Any CAA 111(d) Approach

CSP advances CAA 111(d) objectives:

• Reducing system

- wide emissions through new, stand

- alone power plants w/o storage

• Reducing system

- wide emissions through new, stand

- alone power plants with storage providing all grid services

• Reducing existing fossil fuel power plant emissions through hybridization



# CSP is providing these emission reductions **today,** with proven, commercially

- deployed technology

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# Proven Technology Providing CO 2 

# Reductions:

Stand

- alone Plants

• BrightSource Energy’s 392 MW Ivanpah tower project generates enough electricity to serve more than 140,000 California homes.

• Reduces CO 2 

## emissions by more than 400,000 tons per year.

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## • Abengoa’s 280 MW Solana project generates enough electricity to

serve more than 7 0,000 homes in Arizona.

• It reduces CO 2 

## emissions by more than 475,000 tons per year.

• Solana includes 6 hours of energy storage, the first of its kind in the U.S.

• Storage enables dispatch of power whenever most needed, day or night.

• Includes all the capabilities of a natural gas (e.g. reactive power, ancillary services)



## Potential : using DOE’s estimate of 28 GW by 2030, CO 2 

## reduction could be as much as 47.5 million tons per year Abengoa 

# Proven Technology with Storage Providing CO 2 

# Reduction and Other G rid Services

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### • At the 75 MW Martin Plant, in Indiantown, FL, CSP provides heat to the power block of a combined cycle gas plant, displacing natural gas use and offsetting over 90,000 tons

of CO 2 

### each year

• CSP hybridization can be applied to existing or new natural gas or coal

- fired power plants

Source: NextEra 

## Potential : Fossil fueled plants in 16 states could be hybridized

to avoid 30 million tons of CO 2 

## each year* 

# Proven Technology Providing CO2 Reduction: Hybridization of Fossil Plants

* Solar Augmented Potential of US Fossil

- Fired Power Plants, Turchi , Libby, et al, NREL/TP

- 5500

- 50597, February 2011

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# DOE Technical Assistance

– M odeling 111(d)

Portfolios

• Most states are unable how to determine the “best” portfolio of energy resources to achieve their 111(d) goal

• Very few computer models are able to accurately represent CSP’s ability to dispatch power when it’s needed most

• CSP can be designed as a baseload , intermediate, or peaker power plant



## • DOE has national laboratories (e.g. NREL) that have models of the western electric grid and can accurately represent CSP

• DOE cannot ask the states if they need modeling assistance, the

states must ask them for assistance

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# CSP Alliance Comments on EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP)

• BSER evaluation should incorporate CSP wherever sufficient sun exists, including

• Stand

- alone facilities or

• Hybridized with new or existing fossil

- fueled plants



### • States should be properly credited when they incorporate CSP in 111(d) plans

• To date, the greatest energy sector CO 2 reductions result from renewable energy requirements

• Existing programs may have sub

- optimal effects on emissions, reliability and ratepayer costs as renewable power penetration increases

• States should be encouraged to design renewable energy and /or CO 2 reduction requirements that appropriately balance carbon reductions, reliability and cost, and receive appropriate credit for doing so



### • CPP should require planning and procurement for grid integration needs

• System

- wide planning that properly considers reliability would allow the best emissions, cost and reliability outcomes

– each of which are necessary for success

• CSP mitigates the intermittency impacts of wind and solar PV, enable greater penetrations of variable resources, and lower system emissions and costs overall



### • CAA 111(d) and state goals can be achieved more efficiently with interstate cooperation than if compliance measures are constrained to state boundaries

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# Summary

CSP Provides:

• Proven, Commercially

- Deployed Technology

– Operating Worldwide Today

• Flexible, Dispatchable Renewable Power

• Provides Large Quantities of Carbon

- Free Power

• Ability to Integrate High Levels of Renewables without High

Emission/Low Efficiency Peaker Plants

• Solutions for Any CAA 111(d) Approach

• Reduces System

- wide CO 2 

## – Stand

- alone Facilities with or w/o
storage

• CSP Hybridization Reduces Existing or New Fossil

- Fired Power Plant

CO 2 

## Emissions

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### Joe Desmond, BrightSource Energy

Michele Boyd, Abengoa Solar

Tandy McMannes

, Abengoa Solar

Arthur Haubenstock , Morgan Lewis LLC

Frank “ Tex ” Wilkins, CSP Alliance

Phone : (410) 960

- 4126 tex.wilkins@gmail.com 

# Thank You

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