Mixing Solar with Coal to Cut Costs

Great article from MIT's Technology Review on how Abengoa Solar (located in Lakewood, Colorado) is working with Xcel Energy to build a concentrated solar power (CSP) plant to help make the steam used to turn a coal plant's turbines to generate power. Reality dictates that we cannot just stop using coal today and just rely on renewable energy to generate our electricity. There are several reasons why this is not possible. Coal burning power plants are the most cost-effective and energy efficient way of generating base load power (because you can burn coal at anytime). Wind and solar power are sporadic and we haven't found an effective way to store the power created by renewable sources (there are many up and coming methods like fuel cells or lighter batteries that hold greater charges for longer or using salt vats to keep the heated water warm). This hybrid method is a great way to begin the process of transitioning to renewable sources.

The process of preheating a water using the sun is not new. Using solar thermal units on your rooftop to preheat the water that goes into your hot water heater is a great way to save you money by reducing your natural gas bill and helping to put less CO2 in the environment. Abengoa Solar and Xcel Energy are utilizing this same method but on a power plant-size scale. Kudos to both companies for finding ways to implement renewable solutions for our energy issues.