Here’s a piece on “hot rock” energy storage, where tanks of tiny stones, the size of peas, are heated to as much as 600 degrees C when energy from intermittent sources like solar and wind exceeds demand. How this could …
Tag: molten salt
Solar Thermal: Not Gone, Not Forgotten
When I wrote Renewable Energy–Facts and Fantasies in 2010, solar thermal (aka concentrated solar power or CSP) was a big deal, largely because of the way it readily lent itself to solving the intermittency issue via energy storage as heat, …
Solar Energy in the Sahara Desert
From my feed on Quora.com, where I’ve volunteered to answer questions about renewable energy, a reader asks: Why don’t/can’t we put solar panels in the Sahara Desert as a source of electricity? This is a strong ideal generally, since the …
Spanish Energy Giant Abengoa Still Super-Active in Concentrated Solar Power
I had a terrific discussion with a spokesperson for Abengoa at the Solar Power International show yesterday, from which I walked away quite pleased to learn that CSP (aka solar thermal) is still very much alive and kicking. Abengoa’s approach …
Spanish Energy Giant Abengoa Still Super-Active in Concentrated Solar Power Read More »
Energy from Coal — Some Bad News
Here’s some bad news: the use of coal to provide energy is on the rise, and shows no sign of retreat. Yet there’s specious reasoning in the report, i.e, that renewable energy cannot provide baseload. That’s completely untrue of geothermal, …
Strange Article on Solar Thermal and Energy Storage
I keep an eye out for articles like this that talk about concentrated solar power (CSP –aka solar thermal) and the use of energy storage to make that power dispatchable. Normally, they contemplate molten salt, as the cost of storing …
Strange Article on Solar Thermal and Energy Storage Read More »
Natural Gas – The Elephant in the Room
The session I just caught here at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum included a good discussion on the elephant in the room, the low cost of natural gas. It’s low, but wind competes effectively, if the owner of the gas …
Energy Storage Provides Many Benefits, But … It's Complicated
I always look forward to the Storage Week show each June, as the whole enterprise of energy storage is so important and so multi-varied. Over 95% of the world’s installed energy storage is pumped hydro, but there are a dozen …
Energy Storage Provides Many Benefits, But … It's Complicated Read More »
Solar Thermal Deserves Our Support
Here’s a good article on a recently completed solar thermal tower (aka concentrated solar power or CSP) in the desert between Las Vegas and Reno, NV. The thing to like about solar thermal, as we’ve often discussed here, is that …
Molten Salt Technology — Saving Solar Energy for a Rainy Day
I hope the world is paying close attention to the development of molten salt technology to store solar energy as heat, for later conversion to electricty at night and on cloudy days. As reported here by The Guardian, the Italian utility …
Molten Salt Technology — Saving Solar Energy for a Rainy Day Read More »
Tagged with: alternative energy, clean energy, CSP, green energy, molten salt, Renewable Energy, solar energy, solar panel, solar power, Solar Thermal
