SkyFuel is working on dramatically lowering the cost of an established solar-thermal technology that’s been used for decades: trough-shaped solar concentrators. While most parabolic troughs are made out of glass, SkyFuel’s, called SkyTroughs, are made from the company’s own ReflecTech film material — sort of like mylar but sturdier. SkyFuel developed the material while working with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the company claims it can bring down the cost of a solar system by 25 percent.
SkyFuel will partner with power-plant builders and utilities and doesn’t plan to own any of the power plants itself. By acting as a technology supplier, not a project developer, SkyFuels can keep its capital costs low.
The approach isn’t without challenges, however. Other startups that are going the PPA route have the benefit of working with utilities, who want to announce their solar goals to gain PR and demonstrate progress toward meeting state renewable portfolio standards. For example, PG&E has announced solar plans with Solel (also building trough technology), Ausra, BrightSource and solar PV providers SunPower and OptiSolar. Competitors that are already claiming breakthroughs for the next generation of solar thermal technology could also have an advantage just by getting to market earlier.
SkyFuels also has a few hare-like aspirations. The company is working on its own version of a next-generation solar thermal technology (see image below). By 2011 SkyFuels hopes to have a prototype of its solar Linear Power Tower that uses linear Fresnel technology. Ausra also uses linear Fresnel, but Ausra currently uses heated water to run steam turbines, while SkyFuel uses molten salt. Christopher Huntington, SkyFuel’s VP of business development says molten salt can get much hotter, so its solar plants will be able to provide more power.
– from earth2tech