New scientific findings from Ausra show solar can affordably power
our cars, homes, factories and economy
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Ausra Inc., the developer of utility-scale solar thermal power
technology, has published a peer-reviewed study showing that over 90
percent of the U.S. electric grid and auto fleet's energy needs could
be met by solar thermal power.
Solar power is the nation's largest primary renewable energy
resource, offering many times total U.S. energy needs. Solar thermal
power stations use fields of mirrors to capture the sun's energy as
heat to boil water and drive steam turbines. Solar thermal's low-cost,
efficient heat storage makes solar thermal power uniquely able to
provide a reliable energy supply from ever-varying sunshine.
The Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration
projects over 70 percent total growth in the nation's electricity
demands by 2025, and analysts predict a further increase in
electricity needs as plug-in electric hybrid vehicles come to the
market.
"The U.S. could nearly eliminate our dependence on coal, oil and
gas for electricity and transportation, drastically slashing global
warming pollution without increasing costs for energy," said David
Mills, chief scientific officer and founder at Ausra. "This new study
shows that our daily and annual energy needs closely match the energy
production potential from solar thermal power plants with heat energy
storage, and our models show solar thermal power will cost less than
continuing to import oil."
Mills is the inventor of the absorber surfaces used in the
majority of the world's solar hot water heaters and the pioneer of
Ausra's compact linear Fresnel (CLFR) technology. He presented his
findings yesterday at the IEA SolarPACES solar research conference in
Las Vegas (http://solarpaces.org). He co-authored the new paper with
Robert Morgan, Ausra's chief development officer. A copy of the
complete findings can be found at http://ausra.com/technology.
Converting the national electricity grid to solar thermal power
would reduce overall American global warming pollution by 40 percent.
The combination of plug-in hybrids and solar thermal power would
eliminate the importation of 13 million barrels of fuel per day. The
study finds that because the seasonal and daily patterns of solar
radiation already correlate strongly with electricity use, just 16
hours of thermal storage can provide reliable, load-following electric
power.
"Near-zero pollution technology has to replace most of our current
electricity generation by mid-century to prevent the worst global
warming outcomes," said Stephen Schneider of Stanford University, who
was a principal author of the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change Synthesis Report. "We've got to cut pollution 80 percent by
mid-century, and that means transforming both our electric power and
transportation sectors."
Solar thermal power complements other technologies such as wind,
solar photovoltaic and geothermal generation. "Historically, our
country has moved rapidly to build generation to meet market
opportunities and grid needs," said Robert E. Fishman, Ausra's chief
executive officer. "Between 1996 and 2005, the decade of gas, we built
over 250 gigawatts of natural gas-fired power plants, a quarter of
total U.S. generating capacity. As the solar thermal power industry
moves to scale now, we are entering the decade of solar and building a
reliable, affordable source of power to meet both the needs of our
growing economy and the challenge of eliminating pollution."
About Ausra
Ausra Inc. develops and deploys utility-scale solar thermal power
technology to serve global electricity needs in a dependable, market
competitive, environmentally responsible manner. Located in Palo Alto,
Calif., Ausra is a privately held company funded by Khosla Ventures
and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers. To learn more about Ausra and
solar thermal power in general, visit www.ausra.com.
A&R Edelman
Emily Chamberlin, 650-762-2945
echamberlin@ar-edelman.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
