SolarReserve Changes The Industry

Headquartered in Santa Monica, SolarReserve, a leading developer of utility-scale solar power projects, is changing the way it generates electricity around the world.

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.

SolarReserve owns the proprietary technology used in their industry-leading molten salt solar thermal power plants with energy storage, which was originally developed by rocket scientists for more than two decades and with over 50 patents SolarReserve has commercialized this technology with the capability to deliver clean, reliable electricity “on demand” at any time, day and night, whether or not the sun is shining.

This gamechanging technology enables the company’s solar thermal (CSP) power tower plants to operate 24/7, providing a stable and predictable electricity product similar to that of conventional fossil fuel-burning power facilities, but without the associated harmful emissions and without any fuel costs.

CSP power tower technology with integrated molten salt energy storage is emerging as the industry leader in terms of efficiency, reliability, and cost among all CSP options. Independent studies have shown that CSP with molten salt storage is as reliable as fossil fuel generation for meeting the grid’s demands at peak times.

As intermittent renewables such as wind power and photovoltaics (PV) become more widespread globally, they will contribute less and less to meeting peak demands, but CSP with storage will maintain its value over the long term, even as demand profiles change.

While battery technology continues to improve, progress is incremental, and costs are prohibitive for large scale installations – with these high costs further complicated by battery performance, degradation, replacement and end of life environmental considerations.

SolarReserve’s flagship 110 MW Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Plant in Nevada, with 10 hours of full-load energy storage, is the world’s first utility-scale facility to feature advanced molten salt power tower energy storage capabilities.

The project’s 1.1 GW-hour storage capability is almost 40 times the size of the largest battery storage project in construction or built to date. The Crescent Dunes project, now complete with construction and currently in the commissioning phase, is scheduled to commence full operations in mid-2015, and will be the only operating utility scale molten salt power tower on the planet.

Crescent Dunes will power more than 75,000 homes, delivering more than 500,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year – twice the output of a similar sized PV solar project without storage. SolarReserve’s US developed proprietary storage technology is a fraction of the cost of utility scale battery storage with virtually no performance degradations over time. And the molten salt never needs replacement for the entire 30+ year life of the plant.

SolarReserve offers a solution that can meet the global need for reliable, cost-effective, emissions-free electric power that is available around the clock and is a viable alternative to baseload coal, nuclear or natural gas burning electricity generation facilities. The deployment of this technology brings additional benefits to local and global economies through the creation of jobs, greater energy security, cleaner environments and a healthier, more sustainable future for generations to come.