illustration: Inland Energy
The California Energy Commission has greenlighted an application to build the U.S.’s first solar-natural gas hybrid power plant in Southern California’s High Desert. The plant will be built on a former Air Force Base outside Victorville – about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles – and would integrate a 50-megawatt solar trough power station into a 500-megawatt natural gas-fired plant. Solar energy would produce 10 percent of the plant’s electricity during peak demand times to lower greenhouse gas emissions from the facility, according to the application. The project is being developed by Newport Beach’s Inland Energy for the city of Victorville. "We felt there was a direct analogy between the way renewable resources are used and hybrid cars," Inland Energy executive VP Tom Barnett told Green Wombat. "Electric cars have their limitations but hybrids have taken off. We felt same concept applied to a power plant. We have a solar power plant with the reliability of a combined natural gas cycle plant. We set out to figure out how to integrate solar thermal with gas."
The Victorville 2 plant will use solar trough technology. Fields of parabolic mirrors heat oil or another liquid to create steam that drives an electricity-generating turbine. Several solar trough power plants built in the nearby Mojave Desert in the 1980s and ’90s by Luz continue to operate. Some of those plants use natural gas to extend their operating time – say, when its cloudy or when the sun begins to set. So why did Inland Energy decide to make solar a relatively small part of its plant rather than the main power producer? Reliability, says Barnett. "We really didn’t like that idea because we wanted the ability to provide a baseload plant." In other words, Victorville 2 will generate power 24/7. While the plant will supply electricity to the local area, it also will connect to the grid operated by Southern California Edison (EIX), the utility that powers Los Angeles. "We have the best solar resources in world located in close proximity to one of world’s largest cites," Barnett notes. "The fact that we’re just over the hill from L.A. makes this a valuable resource."
And building a solar-powered conventional natural gas plant means that that it may qualify for a federal investment tax credit. The solar component will also be attractive to California’s investor-owned utilties, which must get 20 percent of their electricty from renewable sources by 2010 and 30 percent by 2030. "We hoped initially that we would have been able to put a much larger solar
facility in the overall plant, but we felt 50 megawatts was the optimal
ratio," Barnett says, noting it may be possible to eventually expand the size of the solar fields at the plant, set to begin operation in 2010. He sees opportunity to build more hybrid plants or retrofit existing plants that supply power to PG&E (PCG), San Diego Gas & Electric (SRE) and other utilities. "There’s a land rush on for solar," he says. "Everyone’s looking at this."
Green Wombat 
Why not build huge hydrogen fuel cells to produce electricity? This would allow 1st round production supporting eventual scaling to the auto industry ( hydrogen manufacturing capacity, distribution, etc.,. ), or would allow the wholesale development of 100% electric cars run off this new grid…? If President Bush is serious about deploying this technology, this is his best recourse…
Your comment about building huge hydrogen fuel cells to produce electricity doesn’t make sense, the fuel cells would consume the hydrogen and produce water as a by product. Its simply not efficient, if you look at the statistics it presently takes more energy to produce the hydrogen. How would this allow scaling? Hydrogen is pointless to use for stationary power purposes. All hydrogen serves as is an energy expensive transport medium. And I’m not sure if you’re aware, but the issue with full electrics is that the grid is only built to withstand peak usage. Without a way to regulate or rather make sure that people don’t charge up during peak hours, the grid and lines will have to upgraded extensively and more reserve power would have to be built. I personally think hydrogen at present is not developed enough to warrant large scale investment. First off, the fuel tanks for car are made from petroleum elements(carbon fiber) which are going to go dry in the next 30-50 years. Second, energy loss is rampant in production. Third, fuel cells in auto’s require platinum compenents for the heads, and unfortunately platinum reserves are at all time lows. There needs to be alot of material sciences breakthroughs and a more efficient storage method for hydrogen to make sense.
Let’s all say it together now:
“Hydrogen is an energy storage medium. It is not an energy source.”
I love solar power I think over the next few years it’s going to be exploding even more… as performance of solar panels goes up people are going to be adopting it everywhere they can… after all it’s free energy 🙂 BTW here is more solar power information -> http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/category/alternative-energy/solar/
Hybrid is the way to go !
Solar hybrid power plants are the vision of the future; they should be the main ingredient if the new mixture of power plants in the world with depleting oil and gas reservoirs.
Dear Sir,
We are looking for our own captive power plant upto 5 MVA so in this regard i would like you to kindly gie the details of both natural gas and solar power plant along with the cost.
Best regards
Vivek Vyas
Solar collectors in space and micro-wave them
to earth might be next.