Guest post by Albert Parker
It is in the news, as expected Crescent Dunes, the world largest concentrated solar power plant featuring 10 hours of molten salt thermal energy storage, just went bust.
https://www.cato.org/blog/crescent-dunes-another-green-flop
The electricity produced, as usual not even when needed but mostly when the sun was shining (and often not even when there was sun) is very well known, as the EIA data are also proposed by Wikipedia in a synthetic table.
Thanks to the savvy energy administrators of the Obama era, the US taxpayers have thus paid unpredictable electricity from the sun 2.38 $ per kWh.
It was expected from Crescent Dunes a production in excess of 500,000 MWh per year over 25 years, or 12,500,000 MWh, of fully dispatchable (or sort of) electricity at a cost of 0.08 $ per kWh.
Taxpayers of other countries of similarly savvy energy administrators, South Africa, Chile and Australia, were just spared the blood bath by the lack of any investor willing to contribute off his/her pockets additional money to the money the taxpayers were forced to contribute.
funniest thing, bill gates invested in mirror solar power start up, he along google and jeff bezos also invested in molten salt battery. and it turns out technology of those 2 start up could be found at crescent dune. so after obama, next is bill gates, google, and jeff bezos. history always repeat themself
I wouldn’t give a fig for Bill and Jeff’s decision to invest in these technologies. It’s their money, they can waste it as they see fit. If they actually stumble into something profitable I’ll be right in line to congratulate them.
“savvy energy administrators”
You forgot Germany ???
I’m sorry, but this article (especially the title) is written is some form of English that I am not familiar with.
Lol, I posted essentially the same thing before refreshing and seeing your comment.
Was this article translated from a language other than English? It just reads very strangely, from the headline and throughout.
Kinda like watching a slower version Atlas Shrugged only in the evening news.
I have yet to see an analysis of if solar can compete with fossil fuels without subsidies.
When I say compete that means including the cost to store the energy during the night or cloudy days. Certainly if it can’t compete in sunniest places in the world it won’t be able to compete elsewhere.
Obama Energy Department? Today, 2/4/20, the Energy Department webpage says this:
https://www.energy.gov/lpo/crescent-dunes
“Upon completion, Crescent Dunes became the largest molten salt power tower in the world.
TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION
Crescent Dunes is the first deployment of solar power tower technology in the United States that uses molten salt as a primary heat transfer fluid. The heat absorbed by the salt can be stored and produce electricity when required. This enables the plant to generate clean, renewable power during times when direct sunlight is not available. The innovative molten salt storage allows the project to generate power at full load on call (dispatched) for up to 10 hours without any sunlight.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Crescent Dunes created more than 600 construction jobs and is expected to support 45 permanent jobs. Under the project’s unique development agreement with Nye County, the project targets filling 90% of the construction jobs with Nevada residents, utilizing both union and non-union subcontractors. During operations, the project will disburse more than $10 million per year in salaries and operating costs.”
Apparently, good Obama’s folks at the Energy Department did not get the message – yet. The Swamp, maybe?
Did the Iowa caucus app write this story too?
I perceive even a similarity with the impeachment hearings. House managers keep repeating their mantra ad nauseam, disregarding anything around them.
Hang on, let’s not tear it all down just yet. Think of all those clever administrators and climate saviours who put their all into this. At the very least each one of them should be afforded an opportunity to climb to the top of the tower and admire the midday view before it is all ground into dust. I recommend sunscreen.
Those schemes are not really new. When I was a young man – a couple of decades ago – I read about one such project in Spain and it just looked great to me. Free power. Needless to say that at the time I was young and undisturbed by such trivial things as cost and productivity. It all made instant sense to me. Today, much older with plenty of scars on my back from past mistakes, I know that any venture that cannot carry itself financially needs an outside source of cash or dies. That mechanism, death by lack of cash, is a good thing as it cleans that plate and allows mistakes to get corrected. End subsidies.
End subsidies… monetary, regulatory, and sociopolitical (e.g. green myths).
It still is a very cool thing. Makes a great location for motion pictures and sci fi shoots. Made quite a nice documentary on discovery too. Wonder if it will be decommissioned or if some will give it another try. As to storage, one would expect highest power demand in Nevada during day time when airconditioning and cooling are switched on.
Heard of green screens and CGI?
The project was a complete success. As hoped, a very nice chunk of the billion dollars invested in the plant is now sitting in the pockets of those who promulgated it.
Who cares if some of investors took a haircut? It’s not like this was built largely with taxpayer funds. Oh wait… strike that!
Well we Ozzies did our bit blowing hard earned on geothermal and sinking a couple of wave generators so we’re pulling our weight with the Anglo Dalliance. What more do you want from the free world so quit yer bellyachin!
I don’t see where anyone has factored the non-trivial cost site clearance and restoration. If extractive minerals companies have to restore their sites should not the solar farm and wind turbine park developers be personally liable for the same thing?
Follow the money.
“The electricity produced, as usual not even when needed but mostly when the sun was shining (and often not even when there was sun) is very well known, as the EIA data are also proposed by Wikipedia in a synthetic table.
Thanks to the savvy energy administrators of the Obama era, the US taxpayers have thus paid unpredictable electricity from the sun 2.38 $ per kWh.”
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Can’t assess because of unintended consequences, anyway https://www.google.com/search?q=markets+love+volatility&oq=markets+love+volatility+&aqs=chrome.