Retrofitting power plants with solar technology
EPRI is partnering with the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Assn. Inc., Progress Energy, and Southern Co. on the study, Solar Augmented Steam Cycles for Coal Plants.
Case study analyses will be performed by WorleyParsons Group Inc.
This and the first project (a study launched in October at natural-gas facilities) both involve adding steam generated by a solar thermal field to a conventional fossil fuel-powered steam cycle, in order to offset some of the fuel required to generate electric power. As part of the coal project, case studies will be conducted at Tri-StateÂ’s 245-MW Escalante Generating Station in Prewitt, N.M.; and at Progress EnergyÂ’s 742-MW Mayo Plant in Roxboro, N.C.
The projects will provide a conceptual design study and two detailed case studies. The goal is to analyze design options to retrofit existing plants, and identify options for new plant designs.
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Solar Now ‘cheaper Than Grid Electricity’ In Every Chinese City, Study Finds
BEIJING - Solar power has become cheaper than grid electricity across China, a development that could boost the prospects of industrial and commercial solar, according to a new study.
Projects in every city analysed by the researchers could be built today without subsidy, at lower prices than those supplied by the grid, and around a fifth could also compete with the nation’s coal electricity prices.
They say grid parity – the “tipping point” at which solar generation costs the same as electricity from the grid – represents a key stage in the expansion of renewable energy sources.
While previous studies of nations such…
