csp talk4

CLEAN POWER FROM DESERTS: 

CLEAN POWER FROM DESERTS The ‘DESERTEC’ scenario for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa—EUMENA

THE ‘TREC’ GROUP: 

THE ‘TREC’ GROUP ■ An international network of scientists and engineers. ■ Has developed the ‘DESERTEC’ concept, to be described. ■ An initiative of the Club of Rome and supported by former president of the CoR, Prince Hassan of Jordan. ■ Close collaboration with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).

DESERTEC IN BRIEF: 

DESERTEC IN BRIEF ■ Described in the ‘TRANS-CSP’ and ‘MED-CSP’ reports from DLR. ■ Shows how Europe can make deep cuts in CO2 emissions from electricity generation using a wide variety of low-carbon sources. ■ Provides increased security of electricity supplies (compared with now). ■ Energy sources include concentrating solar power (CSP) from North Africa and the Middle East (up to 15% of European supplies). ■ Transmission of electricity via a EUMENA-wide Supergrid of highly-efficient ‘HVDC’ power lines. ■ Substantial benefits (next).

DESERTEC BENEFITS: 

DESERTEC BENEFITS ■ Plentiful, inexhaustible, inexpensive and carbon-free power for EUMENA—and corresponding cuts in CO2 emissions (mitigation). ■ Alleviation of climate-change-induced shortages of water, food and usable land (adaptation). ■ Jobs and earnings in large new industries throughout EUMENA. Large commercial opportunities for “UK plc”. ■ Global security: ■ By alleviating shortages of energy, water, food and usable land, CSP can reduce the risk of conflict over those resources. (cf Margaret Beckett’s speeches). ■ A win-win solar collaboration amongst countries of EUMENA can help to improve relations amongst different groups of people. (cf Nicolas Sarkozy’s call for “a new trans-Mediterranean partnership”).

CONCENTRATING SOLAR POWER (CSP): 

CONCENTRATING SOLAR POWER (CSP) ■ Enormous quantities of energy fall as sunlight on the world’s hot deserts and ‘concentrating solar power’ (CSP) is a proven technology for tapping in to it. ■ This is not some futuristic possibility like fusion nuclear power. It is a relatively simple, mature and practical technology that, with the right political and financial impetus, can be brought into play very soon.

HOW CSP WORKS: 

HOW CSP WORKS

CSP: VARIATIONS: 

CSP: VARIATIONS ■ Power towers ■ Trough systems ■ Dish/engine systems ■ Fresnel mirror systems

POWER TOWERS: 

POWER TOWERS

TROUGH SYSTEMS: 

TROUGH SYSTEMS

DISH/ENGINE SYSTEMS: 

DISH/ENGINE SYSTEMS

FRESNEL MIRROR SYSTEMS: 

FRESNEL MIRROR SYSTEMS

GENERATING ELECTRICITY WITHOUT THE SUN: 

GENERATING ELECTRICITY WITHOUT THE SUN ■ There are methods for storing solar heat in melted salts so that the generation of electricity may continue at night or on cloudy days. ■ Gas may be used as a stop-gap source of heat when there is no sun (turbines and generators of a CSP plant are exactly like a conventional power station). ■ With heat storage and hybridisation with gas firing, CSP plants can provide any combination of base load, intermediate load and peaking power—which is valuable in matching supplies to constantly-varying demand.

HUGE QUANTITIES OF SOLAR ENERGY IN THE WORLD’S HOT DESERTS (1): 

HUGE QUANTITIES OF SOLAR ENERGY IN THE WORLD’S HOT DESERTS (1) ■ Every year, each square kilometre of hot desert receives solar energy equivalent to 1.5 million barrels of oil. ■ Multiplying by the area of hot deserts in the world, this is several hundred times the entire current energy consumption of the world. ■ Less than 1% of the world’s hot deserts, if covered with CSP plants, could generate as much electricity as the world currently uses.

HUGE QUANTITIES OF SOLAR ENERGY IN THE WORLD’S HOT DESERTS (2): 

HUGE QUANTITIES OF SOLAR ENERGY IN THE WORLD’S HOT DESERTS (2)

HUGE QUANTITIES OF SOLAR ENERGY IN THE WORLD’S HOT DESERTS (3): 

HUGE QUANTITIES OF SOLAR ENERGY IN THE WORLD’S HOT DESERTS (3) ■ “Tackling Climate Change in the US” (American Solar Energy Society, January 2007): “… analysts evaluated the solar resource in the Southwest and … found that CSP could provide nearly 7,000 GW of capacity, or about seven times the current total US electric capacity.”

THE TRANS-CSP REPORT (2006): 

THE TRANS-CSP REPORT (2006) ■ Commissioned by the German government and produced by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). ■ Shows in detail, country by country, how Europe can: ■ meet all its needs for electricity. ■ make deep cuts in CO2 emissions. ■ phase out nuclear power at the same time. ■ CSP as one amongst several renewable sources of energy in Europe. ■ Less imported energy and more varied sources of energy mean greater resilience and security in supplies.

A EUMENA-WIDE HVDC SUPERGRID: 

A EUMENA-WIDE HVDC SUPERGRID

HVDC SUPERGRID FEATURES: 

HVDC SUPERGRID FEATURES ■ HVDC grids are highly-efficient: losses are only about 3% per 1000 km. ■ Electricity may be transmitted between North Africa and London with less than 10% loss of power. ■ It is feasible and economic to transmit solar electricity for 3000 km or more. 90% of the world’s population lives within 2700 km of a desert. ■ HVDC grids do not replace existing HVAC grids, they complement them.

BENEFITS OF AN HVDC SUPERGRID: 

BENEFITS OF AN HVDC SUPERGRID ■ Security of supply: a shortfall in any one area can normally be met by spare capacity in one or more other areas. ■ Reduces wastage: surplus power in any one area may be moved to where it is needed. ■ Reduces the variability of wind power: the wind may stop blowing in any one spot but it almost never stops blowing somewhere across a large area like Europe, China or the USA. ■ Provides access to large-scale but remote sources of renewable energy such as offshore wind farms, wave farms, tidal stream generators, tidal lagoons—and CSP! ■ Needed for a single market for electricity (promoting competition between suppliers). ■ From a UK perspective: the Supergrid will facilitate the export of renewable electricity (wind, wave, tidal).

SUPERGRID PROPOSALS: 

SUPERGRID PROPOSALS There are at least three proposals for HVDC Supergrids: ■ A EUMENA-wide Supergrid (TRANS-CSP and TREC). ■ A Europe-wide Supergrid using submarine cables (Airtricity). ■ Others have proposed a world-wide Supergrid.

SUPERGRID COSTS: 

SUPERGRID COSTS ■ The estimated cost of a EUMENA-wide Supergrid: ■ €45bn for 100 GW (20 x 5 GW). ■ €5bn for 10 GW (2 x 5 GW) between North Africa and the UK. ■ For comparison: ■ €132.5bn (£90bn) is Gordon Brown's estimate of the cost of cleaning up the UK's nuclear legacy. ■ €7.5bn (£5.1bn) is the estimated cost of adding a new lane to the M1 motorway. ■ €166bn (US$235bn) is the annual subsidy worldwide to fossil fuel industries (New Economics Foundation, 2004).

THE SUPERGRID PROPOSED BY AIRTRICITY: 

THE SUPERGRID PROPOSED BY AIRTRICITY

DESERTEC SPIN-OFFS: 

DESERTEC SPIN-OFFS ■ Waste heat from the generation of solar electricity may be used for the desalination of sea water. ■ The shaded areas under solar mirrors are protected against the harshness of direct tropical sunlight. They have many potential uses including horticulture using desalinated sea water. Thus land that would otherwise be unproductive can be brought into use.

WASTE HEAT FROM CSP MAY BE USED FOR DESALINATION OF SEA WATER: 

WASTE HEAT FROM CSP MAY BE USED FOR DESALINATION OF SEA WATER

CSP: COOLING BY SHADING: 

CSP: COOLING BY SHADING Shaded areas under solar mirrors have many uses including horticulture using desalinated sea water. Land that would otherwise be unproductive may be used for growing food.

CSP COSTS (1): 

CSP COSTS (1)

CSP COSTS (2): 

CSP COSTS (2) ■ US venture capitalist Vinod Khosla says that CSP is competitive now [with ‘clean coal’] and poised for explosive growth (Solar Power conference, 2006). ■ The TRANS-CSP report calculates that CSP electricity is likely to become one of the cheapest sources of electricity in Europe, including the cost of transmission. ■ The cost of collecting solar thermal energy equivalent to one barrel of oil is about US$50 right now (already less than the current world price of oil) and is likely to come down to around US$20 in future.

ASSESSING CSP COSTS AND BENEFITS: 

ASSESSING CSP COSTS AND BENEFITS ■ Potential benefits include desalination of sea water and ‘CSP horticulture’. ■ Fossil fuels are still heavily subsidised in many countries: this has to stop. ■ Fossil fuels are still not paying a proper price for CO2 emissions: this has to stop. ■ Costs widely quoted for nuclear power are far too low and do not take account of several hidden subsidies. ■ Feed-in tariffs or other kinds of support for renewable forms of energy are already available in many countries. ■ Most CSP plants are hybrids: the ‘fossil’ part is cheap to build but expensive to run; the solar part is more expensive to build but cheaper to run.

TRANS-CSP SCENARIO: 

TRANS-CSP SCENARIO

SARGENT & LUNDY 2003: 

SARGENT & LUNDY 2003

SARGENT & LUNDY 2005: 

SARGENT & LUNDY 2005

DESERTEC: A UK PERSPECTIVE: 

DESERTEC: A UK PERSPECTIVE ■ Plentiful, clean electricity (likely to become one of the cheapest in Europe). ■ Several benefits from the HVDC Supergrid. ■ Many opportunities for “UK plc”. ■ Large potential to bring down worldwide emissions of CO2 (a benefit to us all). ■ Global security: ■ Reducing the risks of conflict over climate-change-induced shortages of energy, water, food and land. ■ A win-win solar collaboration amongst countries of EUMENA can help to improve relations amongst different groups of people.

HOW THE UK MAY BENEFIT FROM “CLEAN POWER FROM DESERTS”: 

HOW THE UK MAY BENEFIT FROM “CLEAN POWER FROM DESERTS” ■ Soon: ■ Cascading of electricity between North Africa and the UK via existing AC grids. A single European electricity market would be helpful. ■ Reducing UK demands from energy-intensive applications. ■ Credits via the Clean Development Mechanism or European ‘green certificates’. ■ Later: transmission of electricity between North Africa and the UK via the HVDC Supergrid.

CASCADING OF ELECTRICITY VIA AN HVAC GRID: 

CASCADING OF ELECTRICITY VIA AN HVAC GRID

REDUCING UK DEMANDS FROM ENERGY-INTENSIVE APPLICATIONS, eg computer data centres: 

REDUCING UK DEMANDS FROM ENERGY-INTENSIVE APPLICATIONS, eg computer data centres

CSP TIMESCALES: 

CSP TIMESCALES ■ All the relevant technologies are available now. ■ Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the UN, has said that climate change is as big a threat as war. ■ With the urgency of war, the necessary infrastructure could be put in place soon.

JOBS AND EARNINGS: 

JOBS AND EARNINGS ■ Design and manufacture of CSP plants: ■ Boilers, steam turbines, generators etc (same as ordinary power station). ■ Solar collectors and heat stores. ■ Building CSP plants using manufactured components (in the sun belt). ■ Management and maintenance of CSP plants (in the sun belt). ■ Design and manufacture of HVDC transmission lines and associated equipment. ■ Installation and maintenance of HVDC transmission lines (throughout EUMENA).

WORDWIDE POTENTIAL FOR CUTTING EMISSIONS OF CO2: 

WORDWIDE POTENTIAL FOR CUTTING EMISSIONS OF CO2 ■ CSP plants on less than 1% of the world’s deserts can generate as much electricity as the world uses. ■ It is feasible and economic to transmit electricity for 3000 km or more. ■ 90% of the world’s people live within 2700 km of a desert.

GLOBAL SECURITY: 

GLOBAL SECURITY ■ By alleviating shortages of energy, water, food and usable land, CSP can reduce the risk of conflict over those resources. ■ A win-win solar collaboration amongst countries of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa can help to improve relations amongst different groups of people.

SECURITY OF SUPPLY: 

SECURITY OF SUPPLY The TRANS-CSP scenario provides greater security of electricity supplies than current systems: ■ Less imported energy (CSP imports, up to 15% of European supplies, are the exception) ■ Diverse sources of energy. CSP adds to that diversity ■ Many countries have hot deserts (not like oil or gas). ■ CSP plants are hard to disrupt and easy to repair. ■ There can be strategic stores of solar energy in chemical form.

SECURITY OF TRANSMISSION: 

SECURITY OF TRANSMISSION ■ HVDC Supergrid: ■ Improves security: a shortfall in any one area can normally be met from one or more other areas. ■ Can be designed to accommodate damage (like the internet). ■ Airtricity propose laying HVDC cables under the sea.

Slide47: 

~ 9% p.a. reduction Year 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 Carbon emissions (MtC) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 S curve from 2012 Cumulative CO2 emissions EACH YEAR’S DELAY MEANS STEEPER CUTS IN CO2 EMISSIONS

TIME NEEDED TO ACHIEVE ANY CUTS IN CO2 EMISSIONS: 

TIME NEEDED TO ACHIEVE ANY CUTS IN CO2 EMISSIONS

POTENTIAL FOR CSP AND HVDC IN CHINA: 

POTENTIAL FOR CSP AND HVDC IN CHINA

FROM THE PEOPLE’S DAILY ONLINE, 4TH OF JUNE 2006: 

FROM THE PEOPLE’S DAILY ONLINE, 4TH OF JUNE 2006 Solar power plant project for North         Solar Millennium AG, a Germany-based solar energy technology company, is working with its Chinese counterpart to build a multi-billion-dollar solar power plant in North China. The firm, with the Inner Mongolia Ruyi Industry Co Ltd, is conducting a feasibility study for the project in Ordos of the northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Preparatory work will be completed for construction to begin by the end of the year, said Christian Beltle, chairman of Solar Millennium. When completed, the plant will be China's first large-scale commercial plant converting sunlight into electricity, industry experts said. The project, using solar-thermal technology provided by Solar Millennium AG, would have a capacity of 1,000 MW (megawatts) by 2020. Total investment would be about 20 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion), according to the company. An initial phase with a capacity of 50 MW would be built in "a short period" at a cost of around 1.3 billion yuan (US$162.5 million), said Wang Genshu, chairman of the Inner Mongolia Ruyi Industry Co Ltd. (and more …)

DESERTEC AND CHINA: 

DESERTEC AND CHINA ■ Plentiful and inexhaustible supplies of carbon-free electricity, likely to become one of the cheapest sources of power. ■ Several benefits from the HVDC Supergrid. ■ Many opportunities for Chinese business, employment and exports.

FURTHER INFORMATION: 

FURTHER INFORMATION ■ www.trec-uk.org.uk provides further information with links to the main TREC website, the MED-CSP and TRANS-CSP reports, and other sources of information.

POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS: 

POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS ■ Briefing seminar for investors and business people in the UK. There are many opportunities for UK plc. ■ Briefing seminar for the Government, MPs and Lords.

CSP PLANTS IN SW USA: 

CSP PLANTS IN SW USA

CSP PLANTS IN SPAIN & MOROCCO: 

CSP PLANTS IN SPAIN & MOROCCO

CSP PLANTS: MEDITERRANIAN: 

CSP PLANTS: MEDITERRANIAN

Slide60: 

Study Project TRANS-CSP Trans-Mediterranean Interconnection for Concentrating Solar Power (Introduction & Summary) Project for the Research & Development Programme of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU)

Slide61: 

50 Countries analysed within the MED-CSP and TRANS-CSP Studies

Slide62: 

Gross Electricity Demand in the Analysed Countries

Slide63: 

TRANS-CSP: Electricity Generation in Europe

Slide64: 

Security and Redundancy of Power Supply in a Future TRANS-Mediterranean HVDC Grid

Slide65: 

TRANS-CSP: CO2 Emissions in Europe RUE Rational Use of Energy RES Renewable Energy Systems CCS Carbon Capture & Sequestration Avoided CO2 is calculated with respect to a mix as in the year 2000 including nuclear power

Slide66: 

Land Lost or Gained ? Concentrating Solar Thermal Power Plants combined with Sea Water Desalination in Coastal Desert Areas Energy + Water + Income = Sustainable economic development in arid regions (artist view created with Google Earth) HVDC Link AC Grid