ANOTHER SOLAR POWER PLANT FOR ARIZONA

A few names are emerging at the forefront of the solar power plant development explosion in the U.S. southwest. Among those there is no more prominent a name, in fact no finer a pedigree, than that of Luz.

BrightSource Energy, a Silicon Valley-based firm, owns Luz, an Israeli company. It purchased Luz II in order to “own” the most experienced designers of solar power plants in the world.

Luz I built the original Solar Electricity Generating Stations (SEGS) plants in California’s Mojave Desert. SEGS proved the concept of concentrating solar technology in the 1980s. The Luz I concentrating solar installations have been in service for nearly 2 decades but were not expanded in the intervening years because cheap natural gas prices made development uneconomic.

With a whole new set of market factors driving natural gas prices up at the same rate as oil and auto fuel pump prices, solar power plant development has exploded. Every competing version of the technology has proponents and big installations in the works.

In response to a growing recognition of the value of and need for solar power plants, Arizona political leaders have been hard at work creating policy to incentivize solar development. (See ARIZONA POLICY TO PROMOTE SOLAR)

The Mayor of Phoenix likes the idea of using the withering south Arizona sun to generate something besides the urgent need for air conditioning. (See ARIZONA: SOLAR AMBITIONS) Looking around for somebody to turn his solar burden into an energy asset, he seems to have settled on the finest solar power plant “bloodline.”

Other Arizona financiers, however, are working with Abengoa, a Spanish company with a lot of its own experience in solar power plant development. (See BIGGEST SOLAR PLANT IN THE WORLD)

And Stirling Energy is phenomenally busy building 900 megawatts of solar capacity with its unique technology in the California desert near San Diego. ( See CALIF SOLAR POWER PLANTS GET $100 MIL FUNDING FROM IRELAND)

There will no doubt eventually be a shakeout in the industry and one solar power plant technology will emerge as the most efficient choice. For now, Arizona has enough sun for everyone.

click to enlarge

Luz II parent in Phoenix solar talks; The company has confirmed that its parent, BrightSource Energy, is negotiating to purchase suitable land in Arizona
Merav Ankori, 29 July 2008 (Globes)

WHO
BrightSource Energy Inc./Luz II Ltd.; Joshua Bar Lev, VP regulatory affairs, BrightSource Energy; Phil Gordon, Mayor, Phoenix

WHAT
BrightSource/Luz are seeking real estate for a 400-megawatt solar power plant in Arizona.

One of the original Luz SEGS parabolic trough installations, still generating megawatts 2 decades later. (click to enlarge)

WHEN
Mayor Gordon visited the BrightSource/Luz R&D facility in Israel earlier this year and reportedly initiated talks on bringing the technology to south Arizona.

WHERE
- A solar power plant building boom is ongoing in the U.S. southwest.
- BrightSource/Luz would build its plant at a location convenient to supply the large and burgeoning power needs of Phoenix and south Arizona.

The new BrightSource/Luz II technology uses a solar power tower. (click to enlarge)

WHY
BrightSource/Luz is building a 900 megawatt solar power plant in California’s Mojave Desert in partnership with the states Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) utility.

QUOTES
Joshua Bar Lev, VP regulatory affairs, BrightSource Energy: "A 100-MW generating station would bring up to 500 construction jobs during the 18 to 24 months it would take to build, and then the facility would run on a staff of about 20 to 24 people."