Getting Access to cheaper financing is a key to remain

competitive in 2015
Morocco and South Africas results in recent CSP bids have shaken up the industry. Several questions
have arisen about future bidding prices, funding sources, competitiveness and the technological edge CSP
can provide
CSP Today spoke with executives from Abengoa, ACS Cobra, SolarReserve, Sun & Life and
Protermosolar, who revealed their opinions
Bidding at record-low prices (Saudi based Developer: ACWA Power)

-Luis Crespo, General Secretary of Protermosolar, believes that the industry will achieve a $10 c/kWh
tariff for CSP plants with storage in 2020
-Kevin Smith, SolarReserve CEO, believes the industry will break the $ 10 c/kWh barrier within the next
three to four years for CSP plants with integrated molten salt storage

The cost of financing

-For Alexandre Allegue, GM at Sun & Life, a subsidiary of ACWA Power : The game is changing and the
cost of financing is crucial and so is optimizing the value chain
-Jos Alfonso Nebrera, CEO at ACS Cobra: Future prices will depend on developments in the financial
markets.

Competitiveness
There are two factors that will set the tone in the next two years:
i) CSP companies ability to innovate
ii) EPCs capacity to join forces with investors with a low perception of risk with respect to the place
where the investment is being made

Technological breakthroughs
-Regarding specific research findings to be released within the next year, Nebrera refers to two new
developments.
i)

Molten salt to replace Thermic fluid (HTF ) in Solar field too

ii)

HYSOL concept, a hybrid project Solar Thermal integrated with Gas Power plant

Forward-looking outlook
- Research and technological advancements that move the industry forward in this direction
Abengoa closes US $660 million in financing for Xina Solar One

Partners involved in the development of the 100 MW CSP plant Xina Solar One announced on Friday
13th March that they completed US $660 million in financing for the project
The companies involved are Abengoa, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), the Government
Employees Pension Fund represented by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and Kaxu
Community Trust. The projects total investment is approximately US $880 million
The loan combines financing from development financial institutions such as the African Development
Bank (AfDB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the IDC and the Development Bank of
Southern Africa. It also includes contributions from local investment banks such as Absa, Nedbank and
Rand Merchant Bank
Xina Solar One will supply electricity to Eskom, South Africa's power utility, under a 20-year power
purchase agreement (PPA) signed in late 2014. The plant features parabolic trough technology with a
five hour thermal energy storage (TES) system using molten salts. According to Abengoas statement it
will serve more than 95,000 households

World carbon emissions stall in 2014, says IEA

According to a statement released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Friday 13th March,
global emissions of carbon dioxide in the energy sector stalled in 2014. It marks the first time in 40
years in which the reduction was not tied to an economic downturn. Global emissions of carbon
dioxide stood at 32.3 billion tones in 2014, unchanged from the preceding year, says the IEA
The think-tank added that the halt in emissions growth was linked to greener patterns of energy
consumption in China, the top carbon emitter, and in developed nations. In China, 2014 saw greater
generation of electricity from renewable sources, such as hydropower, solar and wind, and less burning
of coal, it said
The IEA said that carbon emissions had been unchanged or fallen only three times since it started
collecting data 40 years ago, previously always linked to economic slumps in the early 1980s, 1992
and 2009. In 2014, however, the global economy expanded by 3%.

Germany seeks to boost renewable sources of heating

According to a Reuters report, Germany's government announced a series of changes to subsidy

guidelines to try and boost the renewable sources of energy used to heat buildings and offices, in an
effort to meet its ambitious climate targets
The changes proposed include additional support for solar heat and the establishment of an ambitious
efficiency criteria, coupled with the existing market incentive program worth EUR 300 million (US
$318 million).
Last December, the government announced a package of measures to cut CO2 emissions by up to 78
million tonnes by 2020. It included the implementation of a national efficiency plan, which aims to
save between 25 and 30 million tonnes of emissions by modernizing buildings and improving
insulation.

Flabeg New technology Ultimate Trough

Ultimate Trough (UT) collector demonstration loop was successfully integrated in an existing solar power
plant in California and is now put into operation. Its huge dimensions of one Solar Collector Assembly (SCA)
with an aperture of 7.5 m and a length of 247 m make it the largest parabolic trough collector ever built and
operated. It is expected that this collector reduces the solar field cost by 20 to 25 % for 100 MW & 9 % for 50
MW Power Plant.
For similar HTF operations, it will require bigger dia receiver tubes 94 mm instead of 70 mm tubes as
required in ET-150.
Ultimate Trough - World largest collector (240 m)
- Developed by: Sbp, Flabeg (German Consortium)
- Prototype in California
- Total solar field cost savings up to 20 %
- Continuous mirror surface
- Economic use of material
- Truss torque box design
The below comparison is for 50 MW plant with 8 hours of Storage

For our GSO plant , We would require 44 ultimate Trough to generate similar energy from field.
As claimed by Flabeg, Ultimate Trough Collector solar field will be about 25% less costly compared to a
EuroTrough Collector solar field (Prototype completed; Test loop commissioning summer 2012)
Molten salt trough systems (in operation):
- Successful operation of molten salt loops in the Archimede Project in Priolo Gargallo
Basis of cost reduction :
Heat transfer fluid on a molten salt basis will allow for operating temperatures of about 540 deg C ->
increases efficiency by 5 - 10%
As steam conditions are the same as in conventional plants, same standardized cost efficient power island
designs can be utilized
Cost for thermal storage systems will go down by more than 50% due to the change in delta T between
the hot and the cold tank.
Time of electricity generation independent from time of earning energy from the sun

The UT also utilizes a conventional steel structure that is widely available requiring very low tolerances to
allow for local sourcing. Automated and simple assembly allows for the use of low skilled labour and
reduces assembly time.
With Flabeg assembly method, the 7.5m aperture UT has an intercept factor 97.5% on a 70mm HCE (for
molten salt application).
The team also introduced new innovations that allows the larger UT to have a lower wind load compared
to the ET.
Demo Loop

Analysis : Ultimate Trough (UT) from previous parabolic trough designs

Flabeg claim to reduce the specific costs ($/m2) by going large.
-The Ultimate Trough aperture is 30% larger and Solar Collector Element (SCE) is twice as long as the
ET.
-

Graph : ET-150 VS Ultimate Trough

This result in almost half the amount of pylons, drives, assembly and civil works required which enables
the UT to be 20- 25% cheaper for 100 MW Plant and 9 % cheaper for 50 MW plant.
For our GSO plant , We would require 44 ultimate Trough to generate similar energy from field.
Conclusion :

The Ultimate Trough can be optimized for large solar fields in the range of 500,000 to 2,500,000 m of
aperture area.
Our Solar Field Aperture Area is 327,000 m. So, deployment of Ultimate trough wont be cost effective
measure.
Since, only demo loop has been deployed, the technology is still not commercially proven.

Graph : ET-150 VS Ultimate Trough

Latin America: The Promised Land
According to most executives, the Latin American region holds the promise of great opportunities for the CSP industry.
Chilean National Energy Commission released the results of a tender for distribution companies to supply energy to the Central Interconnected System
Abengoa (2 projects ) & SolarReserve (3 projects)developing CSP with Storage & PV Plants (combining both technologies together) to meet peak hours
and night time demand i.e 24 hours affordable solar energy based supply.