http://social.csptoday.com/industry-insight/...ean-csp-pilot-imminent
Public bidding for Chilean CSP pilot imminent
23 April 2010
As the public bidding process for Chile's first CSP plant approaches, national investors and analysts say concentrated solar power could be a perfect fit in the country's northern desert region, and solve national problems like energy security and clean water needs.
Molten salt advantage
CSP has a good opportunity to contribute to Chile's energy security, and also to be a fixed energy load, but those will hinge on developing a storage system for CSP heat and energy. Chileans think they are perfectly situated to utilize molten salts to store excess heat generated by CSP.
One of the world's largest suppliers of molten salts, private company SoquiMich (SQM), is based in Chile. “There's an opportunity to make innovations in CSP storage, and to get big loads for the system,” said Pablo Pastene, solar energy program director at Fundacion Chile, a privately-owned non-profit organization founded in 1976 by the Chilean government.
CSP also provides a chance to produce green electricity for two of the country's largest export sectors, mining and agriculture, which have clients demanding more environmental accountability. Chilean mining and agriculture export most of their production, and it's becoming more common for international brands to ask suppliers to lighten their carbon footprint, Pastene added. |
