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PG&E Signs Contracts with BrightSource Energy for up to 900 Megawatts of Solar Thermal Power (http://www.pge.com/about/news/mediarelations/newsreleases/q2_2008/080401.shtml - broken link)
"SAN FRANCISCO - Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced today that it has entered into a series of contracts with BrightSource Energy, Inc. for renewable solar power. The first three contracts are for a total of 500 megawatts (MW) of power to be supplied from three solar thermal electric generating projects. PG&E also signed two contracts for options on an additional 400 MW of solar power, which would bring the total amount of power purchased under these five agreements to 900 MW."
The first one is scheduled to begin operating in 2011. They will not be photovoltaics. It uses the sunlight reflected off of mirrors called heliostats to heat water in solar power towers.
to use baking soda with water instead of all the other cleaning products.
Well, today, I decided to try it on my shower doors. They were rough - well, it was like magic. Can't believe all the money I have wasted on all the various types - one for sinks, one for toilets, one for kitchens and so forth.
And, it took less time!
This is Great news! Maybe Florida can get on track! Senator McCain endorsed Green energy today in Texas so he's got my vote!
Senator McCain would endorse Lucifer if he thought it would result in winning him more votes than he would lose over it.
As for the solar power plant, thats great news. Honestly, I would think there is likely some negatives about it that we aren't sure of, but I would hope that they are greatly outweighed by the positives. The entire west half of the country could realistically be powered by all renewable sources. The east half will be tougher as their are far more cloudy days and less overall sunshine. I figure though that as time goes on, solar will become more efficient allowing more power to be generated per hour of sunlight. Even here in the Knoxville area I've seen some solar panels on people's roof lately.
PG&E Signs Contracts with BrightSource Energy for up to 900 Megawatts of Solar Thermal Power (http://www.pge.com/about/news/mediarelations/newsreleases/q2_2008/080401.shtml - broken link)
"SAN FRANCISCO - Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced today that it has entered into a series of contracts with BrightSource Energy, Inc. for renewable solar power. The first three contracts are for a total of 500 megawatts (MW) of power to be supplied from three solar thermal electric generating projects. PG&E also signed two contracts for options on an additional 400 MW of solar power, which would bring the total amount of power purchased under these five agreements to 900 MW."
The first one is scheduled to begin operating in 2011. They will not be photovoltaics. It uses the sunlight reflected off of mirrors called heliostats to heat water in solar power towers.
What about at night???? You can't store the stuff either electricity or the staem...
Don't really need to. Most electricity is used during the day. Especially in business, but even around the house. I follow that folks think that light bulbs at night are some big deal, but most folks turn off most of their lights at night.
Most solar thermal designs run into the evening hours with the residual heat they pick up during the day.
The big electricity users are air conditioning (day time), water heating (day time) and space heating (day time). At night there is so much surplus electricity on the grid that big night time users get around a 50% discount on price.
Here is another company big into Solar Thermal >>>
What about at night???? You can't store the stuff either electricity or the staem...
But, you can store the heat energy. One way is using molten salt. "The unique components in SolarReserve's power towers are the molten salt storage loop and the power tower central receiver. The molten salt storage loop enables the plant to generate electricity whenever it is needed - 24 hours per day or during "peak demand" periods."
Technology | SolarReserve (http://www.solar-reserve.com/technology.html - broken link) They also have a video and pdf diagram on that link.
I know a few things about this because I am doing an internship this summer about the heat transfer of molten salt. It is the only reason I am on this forum, actually. //www.city-data.com/forum/knoxv...-national.html
Electric power at utility levels (gigawatt hours) can be stored very efficiently in Pumped storage facilities. These plants pump a lot of water up to a reservoir during peak generation and release it during peak use. They can be built anyplace with a steep hill about 1,000 ft high and a good water supply to make up for evaporative losses. Hydroelectric power can also be dispatched to follow the load but this upsets other river users so is not done very much anymore.
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), but maybe they'll find this look more palatable?
I heard on Weather Channel - Green Living
