Green Options » FPL

Solar Thermal Hybrids Are Hot

Fred Etcheverry — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:45:37 +0000

Aora-Solar, an Israeli company, has constructed, licensed and launched the first solar thermal energy (STE) natural gas hybrid electric generator (June 2009). At the time of this post, it is being tested in Kibbutz Samar in southern Israel. Such hybrids can lower the carbon footprint of existing natural gas power plants. The Israeli design is modular and permits small plants that can serve communities without long distance line losses. Florida Power and Light is scheduled to launch their first hybrid in 2010.

As I discussed in a previous post, electricity can be generated by high temperature or concentrated solar power (Solar Thermal: The Other Solar Energy). Basically, solar rays are concentrated and directed to a heat collector that transfers their heat to a heat engine (usually a closed circuit steam engine) that drives an electric generator.

17 Activists Arrested for Entering Old Growth Florida Swamp

Alex Felsinger — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 18:00:47 +0000

After camping near the Barley Barber Swamp for a week, 17 activists were arrested yesterday for trespassing and resisting arrest. The group, all members of Everglades Earth First!, say they were camping out to convince Florida Power & Light to open the swamp to the public due to increasing concerns that their nearby coal plant is draining the swamp of its water.

According to Earth First!, independent scientific studies have shown the swamp’s water level to be decreasing dramatically every year, but FPL denies the accusation and says they have maintained appropriate water levels under an agreement with the South Florida Water Management District.

Construction of Florida’s Largest Solar Plant Begins

Timothy B. Hurst — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:24:01 +0000

Florida Power & Light, the state’s biggest utility, broke ground today on what it says will be the first utility-scale solar investment in the state — and the first hybrid solar facility in the world to combine a solar-thermal field with a combined-cycle natural gas power plant.

Consisting of 180,000 mirrors spread out over 500 acres, FPL’s 75-megawatt Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center is situated on the Atlantic coast just north of Palm Beach County.FPL’s new facility is The Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center will use less fossil fuel when heat from the sun is available to help produce the steam needed to generate electricity. It also matches solar power with an existing combined-cycle natural gas plant, so that when the sun is not shining, the natural gas can take over the work of powering the turbines.

Big Money Bets Solar Cheaper than Coal by 2020

Carol Gulyas — Wed, 28 May 2008 15:25:27 +0000

The planets may be aligned to finally make solar competitive with coal, according to an article in Bloomberg.com by Greg Chang. Rising natural gas prices, the extension of tax credits for solar investment, and the near-certainty that carbon emissions caps will be imposed by the next U.S. administration, will make it happen. A concentrated solar thermal plant in California’s Mojave Desert, run by FPL, Inc., uses 550,000 mirrors to concentrate solar power.

“At noon on a typical workday, technicians in a two-story control room monitor a dozen screens showing the heat generated by each array of mirrors. As temperatures creep past 700 degrees, icons blink to red from green, indicating the center is ready to feed electricity to the California grid.”

The resulting steam turns turbines that generate electricity — enough to power 112,55 L.A.-area homes. Concentrated solar thermal’s potential has not escaped the attention of forward-thinking investors with big money:

“Chevron, Goldman Sachs, FPL, PG&E and other companies have filed more than 50 applications with the Bureau of Land Management to lease government-owned desert property for solar power systems. Google’s philantropic division put $10 million into eSolar, a start-up in Pasadena, California.” –Greg Chang, Bloomberg.com