QUICK NEWS, September 15: FEDS BACK SOLAR TOWER; $8+ BIL TO GO TO SMART GRID; KANSAS UTILITY BUYS WIND; TWO-EV FAST CHARGER

FEDS BACK SOLAR TOWER
Wilson Solarpower: Low-cost central receiver tower project fast-tracked, DOE funding doubled
Rikki Stancich, 9 September 2011 (CSP Today)

"…Wilson Solarpower received… US Department of Energy…[fast-tracking for] its project into Phase 2…[with a doubling of] the project's funding…[The] Brayton power tower project with 13 hours of storage… uses air as its thermal transfer medium, removing the water resource constraints associated other CSP technologies. By replacing steel components with ceramics in its microturbine and low-pressure receiver, the technology can handle much higher temperatures (up to 1000 degrees Celsius) and operate at greater efficiency than its steel-based counterparts.

"The system provides on-demand energy by using back-up fuels, such as natural gas or biofuels, combined with a novel thermal storage concept, where 2-hour thermal storage modules can be added to store up to 16 hours of power. The modular technology and can be deployed in almost any terrain, with minimal impact on the physical environment."

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"…After 2 GW of cumulative deployment of a 1750 kWe tower module (that can produce baseload energy), the technology breaks through the price barrier with a LCOE of US$0.077 cents/kWh.

"…[T]his 7.7 cent figure is based not on today's gas prices ($4.71/MBtu) but on a 43% higher figure that the DOE chose to use for the project ($6.75/MBtu). Using today's prices, the projected LCOE is only US$0.069 cents…[and] the LCOE will continue to decline as manufacturing volumes and deployment increase…[T]hose prices assume US manufacturing…"


$8+ BIL TO GO TO SMART GRID
Stat of the Day: $8.25B for Smart Grid Enterprise; Hardware isn’t the only investment utilities are making.
Katherine Tweed, September 9, 2011 (Greentech Media)

"…[S]mart meters have garnered most of the headlines, and investment, when it comes to the smart grid. But beyond metering and distribution hardware, there is a need for upgrades in information and operations technology to connect and crunch all of the data coming off of the 21st century hardware."

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"In a new in-depth report from GTM Research, The Smart Utility Enterprise 2011-2015 Senior GTM Analyst Chet Geschickter forecasts that utilities in the U.S. will spend $8.25 billion between 2011 to 2015 in three major areas: customer engagement, business services and grid operations…"


KANSAS UTILITY BUYS WIND
Sunflower signs power pact for wind farm
Dan Voorhis, September 9, 2011 (Wichita Eagle)

"Sunflower Electric Power Corp…will buy the energy from the planned Shooting Star Wind Project wind farm between Greensburg and Dodge City…[Developer] Infinity Wind Power LLC, recently bought the development rights for the wind farm from Clipper Windpower. The power purchase agreement was needed before the project could proceed…The 104-megawatt wind farm near Mullinville is expected to start operating by late 2012."

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"...With the energy from the Shooting Star wind farm, Sunflower will have renewable generation capacity equal to 29 percent of retail peak demand. This exceeds the state's renewable energy standard, which requires utilities to have at least 15 percent by 2016...The wind farm will provide more than $10 million in royalties to landowners over the 20-year life of the contract. It will also generate about 250,000 hours of construction labor...Infinity has also established a community benefits fund…"


TWO-EV FAST CHARGER
New Siemens charging column recharges two electric vehicles at the same time
September 13, 2011 (Siemens)

"Siemens Energy's new Charge CP500A charging point not only refuels electric vehicles within an hour, it also recharges two vehicles at the same time. The charging column is perfectly suited for use in public and company parking garages and as a charging point for electric vehicles at locations throughout cities…"

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"The charging point can also be used for charging the electric vehicle fleet of car rental companies. Like the Siemens Charge CP700A charging point before it, the new station can recharge electric vehicles in three-phase operation at a current of 32 amperes (A). This is equivalent to an output of 22 kilowatts (kW). Siemens will be launching the new charging column on the European market in the fall of 2011…"