Dive Brief:

• Abengoa SA has filed changes to its Palen concentrated solar power project with the California Energy Commission, in response to parties who oppose solar tower technology.
• Instead, the company wants to develop a solar trough project, which uses curved mirrors to focus sunlight on a thin collector tube filled with liquid. The revised project — expected to be one of the largest solar facilities in the world by capacity —would also include an energy storage component.
• Last month the company also requested an extension of a deadline to begin construction, coming up in mid-December. The CEC has yet to rule on that filing, but has indicated that approval for the project overall could hinge on the inclusion of energy storage as the state looks to ramp up renewables integration.

Dive Insight:

Abegoa SA, which last year took over full ownership of the Palen project when it struck a deal with BrightSource Energy for its share, has proposed to change the technology underlying the project to appease parties opposed to solar towers.

In a filing with the CEC, the company said it "has carefully considered several alternative generating technologies for the project site in recent months. In response to the concerns that have been raised, the Project Owner has determined that a solar trough project, similar to that approved in the original
application for certification, will be pursued for this site, and the design will include energy storage."

Abengoa said the decision to include a storage element "was not made lightly," and that it was the result of "extensive study and evaluation in order to be responsive to both environmental concerns and
the future electrical reliability needs of California."

Wildlife advocates have led the opposition to the solar tower technology, saying the concentrated rays of sunlight can fry birds in mid-flight. Changing the design to a trough facility may not placate all of them, the Desert Sun reports. Ileene Anderson, a representative for the Center for Biological Diversity told the paper that scientists have learned much about the value of the habitat since Palen was first proposed five years ago.

It's in the wrong spot," she said.

Solar advocates argue that fossil fuel production, the alternative to increasing solar power, does far more harm to bird and other wildlife populations than solar development, and say the actual number of bird deaths at neighboring CSP facilities like Ivanpah has been overstated. 

Abengoa said it is no longer constrained by power purchase agreement requirements to utilize a specific generating technology, and that the Palen project can "accordingly utilize the generating technology previously approved by the Commission to address California’s growing need for energy storage and more reliable renewable energy generating capacity."