CSP IMPACT Initiative,
Report on the
Concentrated Solar Power Meeting
Fall 2007
Energy Delta Convention
Groningen November 18-21th 2007
CSP IMPACT Initiative, Event Report on Concentrated Solar Power meeting
Fall 2007
By:
Harry Arkesteijn, Maarten Maresch (EUKEP) and from the Fontys School for Higher Professional Education: Carlo VAN DEN BOOM and Kai OTTEN, both students of Marketing Management
Editor:
Bernard VERLAAN
Commissioned by:
EUKEP, DO Tank Governance, Section Sustainable Energy
Cover Design:
Carlo VAN DEN BOOM
Promoters:
Province of Brabant of the Netherlands
SenterNovem, agency of the Ministry
of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands
Preface
What is EUKEP and what is its core business?
The acronym EUKEP stands for European Knowledge Economy Platform. The core business of this independent 'DO Tank' is to support European regional governments that have a dream of a Knowledge Economy, but encounter challenges in the process of turning ideas into concrete actions and tangible results. EUKEP builds unexpected bridges between governments, business, investors, universities and research centres and Open Networks that foster result oriented innovation and transfer knowledge into economic prosperity.
Why does EUKEP take on an Energy/Concentrated Solar Power Impact Initiative?
Energy is basic for prosperity, wealth and Europe's Knowledge Economy. Europe has to develop a roadmap pronto as present problems curb its development in the face of growing CO2 emissions, immanent oil shortages within a decade, staggering oil and energy prices.
What is the objective of this CSP Impact Initiative?
This Impact Initiatives’ objective is the construction of a working CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) Added Value Chain in the long term. The first objective of the IMPACT Initiative is to find and connect the organisations that are willing to cooperate in a cross border initiative; for the development of small scale CSP plants. This fairly small size environment can be seen as pilot for international business models at a larger scale. Second, the event is to identify a model for a large scale cross border implementation. The third objective of the event and the research conducted for its preparation is to get a bird’s eye view of the Dutch stakeholders in the CSP industry.
What will be the next step(s)?
EUKEP is a key player in establishing 'first contact' between relevant parties. Once that is achieved, a process of assistance is initiated for the free and the willing. By regular checkups, EUKEP is the liaison that assesses progress and facilitates it where and whenever it is of significance. EUKEP continues its guidance and tracing of project until results and objectives have been achieved.
Note for the editor
For this paper, British English was chosen as the default language setting.
CONTENTS
Preface 3
1. The Challenge and the overall picture 5
2. Approach and explanation IMPACT Initiative 8
3. Program IMPACT Initiative CSP 15
3.1 Keynote 1: Dr. Edith Molenbroek, finances and economics of CSP 16
3.2 Keynote 2: Dr. Coby van der Linde, Energy and geo-politics 17
3.3 Keynote 3: Dr. Robert Ing. Pitz-Paal, CSP Fresnel technology 19
3.4 Presentation by Henk de Vries, EUKEP and the CSP Impact Initiative 20
3.5 Workshops 20
3.6 Group Sessions 22
4. Results IMPACT Initiative CSP 23
4.1 Small scale 23
4.2 Large scale 24
4.3 CSPV 26
5. Planned Actions and Timeframe 2007-2020 27
Appendix 31
A:program 31
C:participants 32
D:participating companies 33
E:EUKEP 33
F:Energy Delta Convention 34
G:literature 34
H:websites of the organisations of the Keynote Speakers: 36
I: notes 37
1. The Challenge and the overall picture
The present world’s energy supply system faces three basic problems:
· limitations to fossil fuel resources (oil);
· climate change by carbon dioxide emissions;
· political instability since all sorts of energy resources are not distributes equally among all nations and may be used for political pressure or even weaponry (as radioactive materials and specific know how can be used to build a nuclear weapon competences) and even invoke wars
The Challenge and Strategic Objective therefore should be: organise the peaceful energy transition to unlimited, zero-emission sustainable energy and ban instability.
Sustainable energy, in particular solar energy as the most abundant one available, is an alternative for the desired transformation and a useful answer to the ever growing global energy demand. Everybody knows: solar energy cannot be depleted by using it.
From a technical point of view, concentrated solar power technology consists in focusing sunlight to heat a fluid to a sufficiently high temperature to make turbines produce electricity. Exploitation of solar energy in this form requires very sunny conditions that are specific to certain regions of the world. The best zones are the Sahara and the Australian and Californian deserts, as well as Mediterranean areas like Spain, the Southern part of France, Italy and North Africa. This is shown by fig. 2-14 of Pitz-Paal’s presentation in Groningen (November 19th, 2007).
For economical reasons CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) technology was not a profitable option for a long time. That limited its development, but the CSP sector is going through a full revival today due to dropping costs, more effective technologies, increasing political sensitivity for environmental questions, sky rocketing oil prices and –relative- immanent depletion of oil resources (but not of polluting coal)!
For environmental reasons it is time to act fast in order to leave a clean world to our children and children’s children. Clean technologies like CSP must be prioritised and developed with high speed, before coal resumes it place as global energy supplier and replaces oil as major environmental polluter. We are still facing an increase of CO2 unfriendly energy sources as many believe that CO2 can ‘’simply’’ be stored. Meanwhile we know that this storage technology is still in its infancy and it will take many decades to have an impact. Meanwhile we see (end 2007) that countries like China are opening a new charcoal based energy facility every week!
Recent positive developments are that electricity production costs are dropping for all sustainable energies, as is to be seen below in fig 8 of Prof. Pitz-Paal’s presentation in Groningen (November 19th, 2007). Gas and oil show increasing costs.
However, it is a long way from the present existing experimental plants and the small scale plants on numerous drawing boards, to the situation
that some 10% of Europe’s energy demand can be supplied by CSP technology by 2020.
The next chapter presents the approach we took for this Impact Initiative, one of the first steps to a clean future.
2. Approach and explanation IMPACT Initiative
IMPACT Initiative Objectives:
Although Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) is recognised as a potential source for sustainable energy, larger scale implementations (over 50 MW) are limited to two plants in the US and one in Spain. In Spain business plans exist for nine more plants. Due to the dependence on the sun the systems can only be effective for Europe when they are deployed in a small area in the southern part of Europe. Africa would offer better opportunities. The lack of cross border business models is one of the setbacks for the success of grand scale CSP application. Based upon this background, the EUKEP organisation started the ‘Impact Initiative’ with the strong drive to work on effective solutions that find their ways of being incorporated in appropriate business models.
The Impact Initiative has a number of objectives;
· The first objective of the Impact Initiative is to find ownership and responsibility: what organisations are willing to cooperate in a cross border initiative to fo develop small scale CSP plants as pilots for international business models for large scale plants.
· The second objective of the event is to identify an international business model for large scale cross border implementation. Europe has to develop a roadmap for large scale plants in order to cope with the afore mentioned basic problems, or to face energy shortages in the long run.
This requires also policy, action and results (local benefits) for new emerging economies in Asia and Africa. People in these regions also have the right to strive for maximum health, prosperity and wealth, as did the people in the countries of the “old world”.
· The third objective of the event and the research conducted for its preparation is to gain insight into the possibilities for Dutch stakeholders in the European CSP industry.
EUKEP has organised a website for interested parties to see and check progress, and to participate in the action as defined during the Impact Initiative. An active and ’DO’ mindset is essential for participation. The latter is stressed: EUKEP is a DO Tank, not a Think Tank.
Actions defined at the Impact Initiative as well as actions defined outside the event(s) will have follow-ups in reports and follow-up actions. This is crucial!
Participants:
The hands-on approach reached some 40 participants for this first CSP IMPACT Initiative. The event is focusing on European stakeholders that are considering to take ownership for actions.
Participants were expected to have a background in CSP related areas covering disciplines like: science, R&D, energy production, energy transportation, energy distribution, energy retailing, manufacturing of CSP systems/components, energy consultancy, energy authority or investor.
Approach of the CSP Impact Initiative EventPart A
Phase 1: Preliminary Steps
· identification of the CSP issues
· analysis of the various Energy Added Value Chains (CSP, Sustainable Energy in general, Wind Energy, Biofuels)
· identifying stake holders at each level of the CSP Added Value Chain, both in Europe and in the Netherlands.
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Phase 2: First Contact· first contact was made with various stakeholders verifying conclusions and the previous analysis;
· first contact was made with a number of parties, willing for reasons of their own to subsidies parts of the Impact Initiative
Phase 3: Organising the CSP Impact Initiative Event
· manage all logistic aspect of such an event with all challenges of a normal conference
· prepare reporting about the results; in anticipation of organising a Follow Up
IMPACT INITIATIVE
The meeting was not a conference, but qualified as a Work Conference in which experts from all over Europe, fitting in the CSP Energy Value Chain, were invited[1]. Also influencers, decision makers and essential political representatives were invited[2]. The IMPACT formula implied that participants arrived with an energy issue or critical question, and left with an action with IMPACT and a clear follow-up.
An important and crucial difference is the preparation of the participants. Each participant needed for be interviewed before taking part of the expert workshops and to safeguard the results oriented output. This is a main characteristic of an Impact Initiative: it does not end with a report of verbal conclusions in a closing session. An Impact Initiative ends with a list of actions and plans for follow-up. This includes projects as guided by the EUKEP.
Approach of the CSP Impact Initiative EventPart B, after the IMPACT Initiative
Phase 4: Follow Up
· direct and immediate: drafting roadmaps, blueprints and timetables on a numbers of issues (Chapter 5);
· less urgent but no less important; contacting Lead Participants to discuss deliverables and progress (Chapter 6);
The output of this Impact Initiative will be used as input for a next event; it is crucial that in a next event a next level of performance and even more results will be achieved.
Phase 5: Organise a Follow Up Conference or Impact Initiative.· discuss results;
· plan next steps to goal achievement, starting with the steps necessary to have at least one Small Scale CSP plant up and running by 2020.
Phase 6: Small Scale CSP Plants I
Phase 7: Large Scale CSP Plant(s) II
During the workshops and brainstorm sessions the META Plan Method[3] was used. This paper & pen method has been developed with the intent to facilitate direct communication. Anything anyone wanted to discuss was put on the black board, white board or pin board before discussing it. In cooperation with all participants, problems were (mind) mapped, changes and risk factors were identified.
What is the objective of the process?Organising the group discussion helps to:
• Define the Problem
• Generate of ideas
• Select the best ideas
• Clustering ideas in larger (action) units:
– Technology; what are the technical issues, where we have to deal with?
– Policy (and politics); What are the managerial issues, where we have to deal with?
– Finances, what are the financial issues, where and when do we have to deal with?
– Other.
Input was asked from all participants concerning problems, chances and crucial issues they thought were most imperative for the success of the defined 10% CSP Objective for the year 2020.
The coach collected the ideas as written down on slips of paper and pinned them onto the brown paper boards. All suggestions were discussed, conclusions were drawn and a number of agreements were made. These were written down on separate tickets and attached to the identified major issues/tickets.
These main issues were then delegated for pursuant debate to the workshop meetings.
Workshops:
Each of the workshops got its own major topic to deal with. Originally, three workshops were planned but participants enlisted themselves for the Technology Workshop and the Financial Workshop though they previously agreed that the majority of identified problems and dealings were in the Policy Domain.
For practical reasons the policy issues were also delegated to the Financial Workshop, as we will see. These workshops were held at the end of the first day, after the Keynote Presentations. These Keynotes achieved a shared body of knowledge among the participants who mostly are specialists in concise CSP areas.