Solar and thermal hydro energy storage
Reliable, on-demand renewable energy for utility and industrial applications
Overview
Tackle peak demand and unpredictability of renewables
As renewable energy sources like solar and wind become increasingly integral to our energy system, the challenge of their intermittency persists, especially during times of peak demand. The game-changing solar and thermal hydro energy storage system developed by our partner RayGen effectively addresses this issue by integrating solar PV Ultra® with thermal hydro long-duration energy storage technology, offering a highly efficient and reliable solution.
The PV Ultra system generates both electricity and heat. Heat charges the storage system, and the thermal energy can be converted into electricity and used during periods of high demand or when sunlight is unavailable. By colocating the PV Ultra system and thermal hydro storage, we help enhance the dispatchability for on-demand renewable energy, making it an ideal choice to maximize revenues in market trading applications and to secure reliable power supply with high capacity factor clean energy.
Solar and Thermal Hydro Energy Storage
果冻传媒 and RayGen partner to scale solar and thermal storage technology for on-demand clean energy.
Features
Innovative solar PV Ultra modules
Operates ≈ 2,000× more powerfully than traditional ground-mounted PV systems. PV Ultra modules convert solar energy into both electricity and heat. A single module of 10 × 10 cm generates 2.5 kW of electricity and 5 kW of heat.
Flexible long-duration energy storage (LDES)
Provides hours, days, or weeks of storage durations with minimal losses, using pit thermal energy storage (PTES) to ensure energy availability when needed.
Top-tier round-trip efficiency (RTE)
Yields 70% RTE, resulting in efficiency at a cost-effective price point.
Proven technology blocks
Incorporates widely used industrial equipment such as Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) turbines, chillers, heat pumps, and heat exchangers, supporting established supply chains and local manufacturing.
The solar and thermal hydro energy storage solution consists of a field of smart mirrors that concentrate sunlight onto an array of solar PV Ultra modules mounted on a tower receiver. This configuration absorbs more energy than traditional solar power systems and stores unused heat, which can later be converted into electricity to be used when needed.
Applications
- Market trading: The system is configured to optimize revenue from market participation, flexible trading, ancillary services, and capacity markets to provide firm, green power.
- High capacity factor: The system operates like a power plant to provide high capacity factor baseload power for large industrials needing to replace fossil fuel baseload with clean power, such as mining, steel, and green hydrogen production.
Benefits
- High-value electricity: Long-duration dispatchable capacity to maximize revenue generation and profit across energy products.
- Scalable and cost effective: Highly scalable and cost-effective technology, ideal for utility-scale solar projects and large industrial applications, including clean hydrogen, both on-grid and off-grid.
- Reduced environmental impact: Clean energy produced with minimal e-waste, low noise, and optimized land use for colocation with agriculture, pasture, and grazing.
