Scalable electric power from solar energy

19 February 2009

Electric power generation accounts for 40 per cent of human-generated carbon emissions. Solar energy can provide a material part of global low-carbon electricity needs at costs directly competitive with fossil alternatives, and can meet utility grade power quality, cost and reliability requirements. In addition to significant emissions reduction and environmental benefits, solar offers sharply reduced supply and commodity risk, according to this paper from Vinod Khosla.

Three primary solar technologies – solar thermal electricity, photovoltaic solar (PV), and solar heating – are maturing rapidly, on a fast-declining cost curve. Solar thermal electricity offers the greatest potential for base-load, large-scale power to replace fossil fuel power plants at low technical risk. Photovoltaic solar power can help meet peak load and distributed power needs and could scale rapidly if PV efficiency and storage technology developments accelerate. Solar heating can displace fossil fuel use in residential and industrial uses as process heat.

With the implementation of an effective carbon credit pricing mechanism or the continuation of current incentives, solar thermal technology can be competitive with electricity from today’s new natural gas or Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) coal power plant at “risk adjusted” prices. Low cost capital for plant financing and investment in grid transmission is required to enable this. Costs of competing power sources are underestimated and will rise as costs for externalities like carbon or other pollution are included, providing incentives for scaling up solar.

Four primary policy steps need to be taken: the adoption of a global carbon pricing scheme; the implementation of national, regional and global renewable power standards; an increased focus on regional/continental power transmission; and making available low-cost capital for low-carbon power generation. Our goal should be to increase global “optionality” to accommodate technological surprises.

Read the full report here.

Vinod Khosla was formerly a General Partner at Kleiner Perkins and founder of Sun Microsystems. Vinod has been labeled the #1 VC by Forbes and Fortune recently labeled him as one the nation’s most influential ethanol advocates, noting “there are venture capitalists, and there’s Vinod Khosla.” Vinod Khosla founded the firm in 2004 and was joined by partners David Weiden and Samir Kaul, as well as chief scientific officer Doug Cameron in 2006. Khosla Ventures is based in Menlo Park, California.

Khosla Ventures offers venture assistance, strategic advice and capital to entrepreneurs. The firm helps entrepreneurs extend the potential of their ideas in both traditional venture areas like the Internet, computing, mobile, and silicon technology arenas but also supports breakthrough scientific work in clean technology areas such as bio-refineries for energy and bioplastics, solar, battery and other environmentally friendly technologies. Go to www.khoslaventures.com.

Tags: photovoltaic, solar

This story was published on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 3:18 pm and is filed under knowledge. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Scalable electric power from solar energy”

1. Bill Brobeck says:

   20 February 2009 at 4:49 pm

   IMHO for solar to be successful, the utilities need to get on board. While central power plants described in this paper are very attractive to VC’s and utilities, there is still local renewable distributed generation that has many untapped benefits. Since the ITC was passed last December, utility ownership of locally generated solar PV is now economically attractive. The key to its success will be how to compensate building owners while at the same time encouraging them to make the necessary energy efficiency improvements.

   Our patented energy credit card payment system can provide that key, but my question to Mr. Khosla is; does the shear complexity of utilities, regulatory agencies, local governments and consumer advocates overwhelm investors and scare them away?

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