| | July 201619CIOReviewPV simply can't meet early morning and evening peak demand (before sunup and after sundown). So CSP with storage provides two advantages: 1) It provides non-intermittent base load power that is more easily integrated into their existing grid and 2) It actually provides real capacity to reliably meet demand during their peak hours, which extends to 9:30 PM.China is also experiencing similar issues with intermittent renewables and their inability to meet peak evening demand, and are turning toward CSP with energy storage, with a target to build 10,000 megawatts of CSP over the next five years. Not only will CSP with TES provide non-intermittent power to meet their peak demand, the technology will be able to facilitate the deployment of additional wind and PV generation, while ensuring the reliability and security of the new ultra-high voltage transmission lines being constructed to bring clean, renewable power from the north and west regions of China to load centers in the east.With the agreement signed at COP21, countries pledged to focus further on developing clean, renewable energy sources and move away from the use of fossil fuels. This will clearly bolster the already remarkable growth in renewable energy, and as renewable energy penetration grows, the need for utility-scale renewable generation with storage technology is increasingly important to mitigate intermittency problems, deliver power into peak demand periods, and support transmission system reliability. Declining Installation CostsCSP with storage is set to realize falling installation costs as global deployment accelerates. It is a relatively young technology, with a strong roadmap for performance improvements, optimization and cost reduction. Future projects are already seeing 30 percent reductions in capital costs.SolarReserve is realizing substantial cost optimizations in their CSP with TES technology, including cost and efficiency improvements for their next generation projects. Their 100 MW Redstone South African project with 12 hours of energy storage will earn $125/MWh, without subsidies. This project is designed to operate until 10pm, meet-ing the South African utility's peak demand period. The com-pany's 260 MW Copiapó Chilean project with 13 hours of energy storage will bid at well under $90/MWh, without subsidies. This project is designed as a base-load facility, to meet Chile's 24/7 demand for power.It is important to keep in mind that CSP with TES is delivering both energy generation and energy storage, at a combined price. If you separated out the cost of equivalent battery storage, the remaining cost associated with generation would be very competitive with even the lowest PV or wind power prices. Economic BenefitsSolarReserve's Crescent Dunes 110 MW project is an example of potential job creation it has created over 4,300 direct, indirect and induced jobs over the life of the project, with peak on-site employment of over 1,000 construction jobs, including more than 70 subcontractors (about 60 percent of the total) from the state of Nevada where the project is located.Importantly, CSP projects provide an enormous oppor-tunity for local content. Again using the Crescent Dunes project as an example, equipment and services were pur-chased across 26 states. All 1.2 million square meters of glass was U.S. sourced, with assembly completed in an on-site manufacturing facility that employed local work-ers. Virtually all of the 90,000 cubic meters of concrete required for the project was provided from a local supplier. All 2,000 tons of structural steel was U.S. sourced as was most of the piping, ca-bling and valves. The breakthrough solar energy storage technology we are utilizing at SolarReserve is just one example of how American innovation finds answers to complex problemsand also can create jobs by the thousands. Bill Gould
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