Texas Solar- page 2- with comments

Parabolic troughs are a type of concentrated solar power that uses shaped mirrors which follow the sun during the day and heat up a liquid which then heats water to make steam in order to move conventional turbines.

Parabolic dishes are like large satellite dishes with curved mirrors that reflect sunlight to a central point where the energy heats to 750 C. A liquid also heats up and drives a piston to generate electricity.

Central receivers use an array of mirrors in a tower to heat up a liquid to 650 C. Steam is produced to drive a turbine. Linear fresnel reflectors use long rows of reflectors to heat a liquid or to directly make steam. They don’t generate as much energy but could cost less in production and long-term maintenance. To reduce energy consumption hot waters could be used. For example, over 80% of homes in Israel have solar water heaters, according to the report.

New Jobs

Also cited is the job growth potential should Texas become a world leader in solar technology. An institute at the University of Texas at Austin found that 123,000 jobs could be created in the long-term in manufacturing and solar electrical services.

Texas is already a leader in wind power. Coupled with its’ colosal solar potential, the state is poised to become a true force of nature in the clean energy arena, nationally and perhaps globally.

Image Credit: Public Domain

Tags: photovoltaics, solar power, texas solar, US solar
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1
buck said on April 22nd, 2009 at 10:56 pm
How much does a 900 square mile plant cost? I am guessing it is insane.

2
JOhn Davis said on April 22nd, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Wow you do raise some good points dude!

RT
http://www.privacy.pro.tc

3
anon said on April 22nd, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Umm, 11 30×30 mi plants That’s nearly 11,000 square miles of solar panels. That’s TWO CONNECTICUTS paved over with mirrors. I can buy a yard-square meter online for $40, which means I could buy just the mirrors needed for a cool $1,140 billion dollars. Maybe there’s some economy of scale, but that’s still just the mirrors, no liquid sodium or piping or anything.

By contract, a 1,140 billion could be used to build 250 grossly overbudget $1.1 billion dollar nuclear reactors plus fuel costs for eternity, each generating 1,100 MW, for a little under TWICE the energy Texas needs. Make them thorium burning, and the waste isn’t even a big deal. Just a whole bunch of power on a footprint of new york city instead of all of connecticut.

4
Jake Richardson said on April 22nd, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Thanks. I think that a lot of the solar collecting technology there will also be manufactured there, and it will cost far less.

5
Allie said on April 23rd, 2009 at 12:18 am
Put people to work building that trillion dollar solar power plant.

6
Payam said on April 23rd, 2009 at 12:26 am
Sure it will cost alot, but just imagine how much of that money we would save after 10 years of using it.
You guys are all talking about short term gains when there is virtually none except for job positions. Long term is where the true value lies.

7
Papi_pol said on April 23rd, 2009 at 12:28 am
This is a very good story. Thinking that most cities may run on the sun would really reduce our daily fossil fuel use for a significant degree.

8
iamlost said on April 23rd, 2009 at 1:00 am
If only this technology is cheap enough for poor countries which happens to have an abundance of sunlight

9
anon said on April 23rd, 2009 at 1:15 am
Haha what are you smoking papi? You’re phrasing that awfully positively. . . There isn’t a situation where ANY of our states will be pursuing projects on that order any time soon. It’s a dream.

10
Aodhan said on April 23rd, 2009 at 4:00 am
The point of building these solar plants is to make Texas a self sufficient state that has a clean burning, permanent way to provide energy to its resident. I do not know much about the Texan geology but I have never heard about Texas being abundant in Uranium or other nuclear fuels. One thing that Texas does have is plenty of sunshine. Texas using solar power is pretty much the same as the great plain states using wind turbines. While the initial cost is a lot to ask for, it is for the long term. The cost over the period of time should be reasonably low as long as the plants do not get into disrepair. In addition, using the solar energy does not leave any waste behind. While the waste may not initially be a big deal, it will accumulate over the years and eventually turn into a big deal. While 11 900 square miles is very big, Texas is also a very big state. Texas is over 250,000 square miles which means 11,000 square miles is not really a big deal. Plus, since the whole state receives pretty much the same sunshine, the plants can be put in the more inhospitable land. Also, all of the jobs created will help to provide a real boost to the economy.