Houston-based Dynegy is working with a power industry research group to test the feasibility of using solar power to reduce fuel costs and cut emissions at existing electric power plants.
The study won’t involve construction of the solar equipment — at least not yet — but rather will examine the economics of using solar power to generate steam to spin turbines at Dynegy’s 578-megawatt Kingman, Ariz., plant.
Existing solar technology is not considered cost-competitive with other sources of electric power. Photovoltaic technology, which turns sunlight directly into electric current, costs more than 20 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared with about 5 cents per kwh for coal.
But the Dynegy project, which is being done with the Electric Power Research Institute, will study using large arrays of mirrors to direct solar energy to heat water into steam. That steam, along with steam created by burning natural gas, would drive electric turbines.
“These ‘hybrid power plants’ will combine the low-cost reliability of existing fossil power plants with the environmental benefit of renewables and help companies meet federal and state mandates to reduce their emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases with renewable energy,” said Bryan Hannegan, vice president of environment and generation at the Electric Power Research Institute... read more about Dynegy Using Solar
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