Concentrating Solar Power Funding Opportunity Announcement
5/25/2007
On May 24, 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Program released a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for companies to develop storage solutions, manufacturing approaches, and new system concepts for large-scale concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. CSP technologies are one of the most attractive renewable energy options for large-scale power generation in the U.S. Southwest, which is home to 15 of the 20 fastest-growing metro areas in the country. The collaborative public-private partnerships established herein will work to reduce the nominal levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of CSP power plants from 13-17 ¢/kWh in 2007 to a target of 7-10¢/kWh by 2015 and 5-7¢/kWh by 2020. DOE estimates that satisfaction of these cost targets could lead to installation of 16,000 to 35,000 MW of new generating capacity by 2030. This would result in a savings of 36-80 million tons of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere each year relative to coal plants of similar capacity.
In the United States, the DoE has a goal to deploy significant CSP
plants in the Southwest. This is known as the 1,000 MW CSP
Southwest Initiative. In June 2004, the Western Governors’ Association
at their annual meeting in Santa Fe resolved to diversify
their energy resources by developing 30 GW of clean energy in
the West, including a declaration to “establish a stakeholder working
group to develop options for consideration by the governors
in furtherance of the 1,000 MW Initiative. The 64 MW Nevada
plant is already under construction and the 1 MW Arizona ORC
is producing electricity since April 2006.