WILSON 247SOLAR PLANTS™
A Preliminary Guide for Power Project Customers
Affordable 24/7/365 Solar Electricity
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This Preliminary Customer Guide contains information to assist in determining whether to seriously consider Wilson 247Solar Plants™ from Wilson Solarpower Corporation. Wilson does not intend for this Guide to form the sole basis of any transaction decision. Instead, Wilson makes no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, or accepts any responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of this Guide or to the achievement or reasonableness of any projections, management estimates, prospects, or returns.
Please direct all communications and inquiries relating to this Guide or to a possible transaction as follows:
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WILSON SOLARPOWER CORP. Bruce N. Anderson, CEO
1900 Campus Commons Drive, Suite 100 Reston, VA 20191 USA
617-‐290-‐9913 [email protected]
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See also: www.WilsonSolarpower.com
Copyright 2015
“This (Wilson’s CSP solution) is a revolution waiting to happen.”
Belén Gallego, founding CEO
CSP Today, PV Insider
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SUBSTANTIAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Wilson Solarpower Corp. (“Wilson”) is offering select power project developers the opportunity to deploy its Wilson 247Solar Plants™ (“247Solar Plants” or just “Plants”) in their projects. Project developers who do so can expect the following benefits.
Financial • High profit margins on the sale of power from 247Solar Plants.
• CAPEX per kilowatt-‐hour sold that’s lower than most forms of power, e.g., coal and photovoltaics. • Excellent cash flow.
• Reduced risk of cost overruns. • Positioning to capture a large share of their electricity market.
• Local branding rights. • High reliability, simple operation and maintenance.
• Control of time-‐of-‐day power generation based on best electricity prices available.
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Short project schedules • Minimal custom engineering.
• Comparatively rapid project permitting, few environment challenges. • Relative ease of project financing, high reliability, mostly proven components.
• Rapid deployment leading to quick sale of power. • Required technical, construction, and operation expertise readily matches locally available talent.
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Complete support from Wilson Solarpower • Complete fabrication and construction specifications and drawings.
• Key proprietary components. • Co-‐development of local suppliers for many components (in many cases, ~2/3 of total project costs).
• Co-‐engineering your power project. • Thorough technical and operational training.
• Optional power project monitoring and troubleshooting. • Optional parts and service contracts.
CAPEX $50,000,000 (assumes 10 MW, 25 Wilson 247Solar Plants)
Annual value of power $9,100,000 (assumes 13 cents/kWh, 7000 hours/yr, 70,000,000 kWh/yr)
O&M ($1,400,000) (assumes 2 cents/kWh)
Net annual value of energy $7,700,000
Example economics, 10 MW power project, 25 Wilson 247Solar Plants, each 400 kWe
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A LOCAL AND GLOBAL OPPORTUNITY Concentrated solar power (CSP) can operate profitably in areas of the world that serve about 40% of its population. Typically, the greater the sunshine levels and the higher the local price of electricity the greater the profitability. Ideally, there will be as little dust, moisture, or pollution in the air as possible, i.e., the clearer the skies the better, and the more clear skies per year the better. The common measure for this characteristic is called DNI, which stands for Direct Normal Insolation, and is represented by kWh square meter per year. Some parts of southern Africa and northern Chile have DNIs in excess of 3000 kWh/m2/yr. Depending on local electricity rates, however, DNI as low as 1500 kWh/m2/yr may be profitable.
Here is a world map of DNI. If your project is in a location where the color is between light orange to dark red/purple, your DNI may be sufficient. Feel free to confirm with us whether your DNI is adequate.
WILSON 247SOLAR PLANT PRODUCT MODELS Does your power project require that you produce power from solar 24 hours per day everyday of the year, i.e., baseload power? Or does it require that you produce power from solar just during peak times, i.e., is it a peaker 4 to 6 hours per day? Or is the requirement somewhere in between, say, 7-‐9 hours or so a day from solar, i.e., an intermediate power plant? Wilson 247Solar Plants come in three standard models to address each of these three basic types of power generation systems, i.e., peakers, intermediate power, and baseload power. The smallest, 400 kWe, can operate as a baseload plant with a solar capacity factor of 60-‐80%1. The next largest size, 750 kWe, operate as intermediate plants on solar power for 7-‐9 hours per day, e.g., some daytime hours as well as some morning or
1 Capacity factor is the total actual output of a power plant each year compared with its output had it operated at full power every hour of the day. Solar capacity factor is the total actual output of a power plant from solar energy each year compared with the total output if the plant had it operated at full power every hour of the day.
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evening peak hours. The largest size, 1000 kWe (1 megawatt) operates on solar power primarily during morning and evening peak hours. All models are designed to burn fuel, if desired, to extend their operation and/or to enable them to be firmly dispatchable, i.e., to operate whenever required. Also, all three models can perform as “spinning reserves” by operating the turbines continuously at a very low rate (and very low solar or fuel consumption) in order to respond instantly to fluctuating demand or sudden drops in voltage on the grid (e.g., when a cloud crosses over a PV array). Models can be mixed and matched in systems of multiple 247Solar Plants to maximize the total revenue stream. The turbines can be shipped from the factory to burn either gaseous or liquid fuels.
1. Model 247SP-‐400MAX: 400 kilowatts, 24/7 baseload, 80-‐90% solar 2. Model 247SP-‐750PEAK: 750 kilowatts, 24/7 spinning reserve, 7-‐9 hours/day solar 3. Model 247SP-‐1000PEAK: 1000 kilowatts, 24/7 spinning reserve, 5-‐6 hours/day solar
peaker PROJECTS AND APPLICATIONS Wilson Solarpower currently is entertaining interest from prospective customers for a minimum of 10 megawatts, which is 25 Wilson 247Solar Plants of 400 kWe each. Ideally, the customer will intend to build power projects considerably larger, either now or in the future. However, we would be happy to discuss smaller initial projects, depending on circumstances.
We work with you and your team to thoroughly understand our technology and to train you to be as independent as you care to be in the deployment and operation of 247Solar Plants. Together with your engineers, we modify our standard 247Solar Plant design, if required, to adapt to local requirements. We recommend that you build an initial 247Solar Plant followed by the balance of the project. We supply a few of the key, proprietary components and, with you, co-‐develop a local supply chain for as many components as possible to minimize costs.
One of the major advantages of 247Solar Plants is that they can be deployed as a single, standalone Plant as distributed solar power generation; or, like PV and wind, as dozens or 100s of Plants as central power “farms”; as well as power project sizes between these two extremes.
! Single 247Solar Plant ! Industrial/commercial companies, substations, military bases, islands,
villages, landfills, brownfields, oil/gas fields ! On-‐grid or off-‐grid/micro-‐grid ! Grid start or black start ! 1,600,000 Btu/hr of useful waste heat, e.g., for heat,
cooling, water purification/desalination, crop drying, etc.
! Multiple 247Solar Plants ! Towns, communities, developments, mines ! Convert PV, wind farms from intermittancy to firm
dispatchability by filling in during low sun or low wind conditions.
! 100s of 247Solar Plants ! Central power
“The most transformative energy technology I found in searching the solar and broader renewable energy industry / energy /storage /smart grid industries for 18 months.”
Jeff Wolfe CEO, HelioFire and PV veteran
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WILSON 247SOLAR PLANT DESCRIPTION
Each pre-‐engineered 247Solar Plant consists of the following:
1. About 4 acres (<2 hectares) of heliostats (pole-‐mounted, mirrors from a third-‐party vendor) that track the sun and focus ~1500 suns of energy onto...
2. …an innovative high-‐temperature, Wilson Solar Receiver™, mounted on a conventional tower (~125 ft) where air is heated to 970C. Some of the hot air then goes to...
3. …the Wilson Solar Heat Exchanger™, which heats the compressed air from the turbine's compressor. The super-‐heated compressed air then powers...
4. …an off-‐the-‐shelf, 400-‐kWe “microturbine” package2 (shown on the right), which is shipped operation-‐ready with generator and power electronics for quick grid connection and very
high reliability.
5. The rest of the hot air from the solar receiver goes to a ~10 to 15 hour Wilson Thermal Storage System™, which powers the turbine when the sun is not shining. Rather than using
molten salts typical of other CSP systems, the 247Solar Plant energy storage is dry (e.g.,
firebrick or small pieces of ceramic) and has no moving parts.
6. If desired, the turbine burns conventional or biofuels (liquid or gaseous) when the thermal storage system is depleted.
2 “Microturbine” typically describes a non-‐steam, Brayton cycle “gas” turbine with an output of 1 megawatt or less. They typically burn natural gas or biogas to operate. Plug-‐n-‐play packages connect quickly to the grid and a fuel source. They require just 4-‐6 hr/yr of routine maintenance and have an overhaul schedule of 40,000 hours (5+ years).
RECEIVER OUTLET “HOT AIR” (970OC)
RECEIVER INLET “WARM AIR” (650OC)
AIR FLOW, warm air up, hot air down
WILSON SOLAR RECEIVER™ (no moving parts)
PACKAGED TURBINE GENERATOR (with Wilson Solar Heat Exchanger™)
SUN-TRACKING HELIOSTATS (~4 acres)
XXXX
X
SUNLI
GHT
FRO
M
HELIO
STAT
S
XXXX
X
CONVENTIONAL TOWER (~125 ft, not shown)
WILSON THERMAL STORAGE SYSTEM™
(e.g. fire brick no moving parts)
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CHARACTERISTICS, 247SOLAR PLANTS ! Provides 24/7 highly profitable and reliable power, initially at costs competitive with intermittent renewable
sources such as photovoltaics (PV) and wind and, ultimately, at costs competitive with all forms of new power generation, whether fossil, nuclear, or renewable. To Wilson’s knowledge, this is the sole near-‐zero-‐emissions technology able to make this claim.
! US DOE invested $5 million in its development. ! Cheaper to build than PV: $0.75 investment for each kilowatt-‐hour (kWh) generated per
year vs $1.00/kWh/yr for PV (assuming $1500/kWe).
! Less land required than for PV: 1.25 acres/GWh generated per year vs ~3 acres/GWh/yr for PV.
! Offers profitable, high-‐value power, generating during periods of high power costs and avoiding generation during periods of lower value.
! Can operate up to 24 hours per day, 365 days per year with little maintenance, no on-‐site operators, and high reliability.
! Has few environmental concerns, similar to large PV plants, i.e., has a light touch on the land and near-‐‑zero water use.
! Can be deployed on-‐ or off-‐grid at village/industry/mine scale (distributed power) to mega-‐central plant scale. At smaller scales, the Plant’s waste heat can be used for a wide variety of high-‐value purposes.
! Co-‐location with PV and wind farms can convert the entire facility from intermittent power to 24/7, firmly reliable and dispatchable systems.
Simple System and Proven Components
! Wilson 247Solar Plants are simple, air-‐‑based systems (i.e., no water/steam, salts, or oils).
! Few moving parts, principally turbines, blowers, and heliostats (sun-‐tracking mirrors). ! Mostly commercially proven components with high reliability and low maintenance
requirements. ! Wilson’s breakthrough, highly proprietary Wilson Solar Receiver™ has no moving
parts and is a scaled up and simplified version of a proven German design. ! The Wilson Thermal Energy Storage™ is a scaled down version of proven 100+-‐year
technology used in the steel industry. It has no moving parts, heat exchangers, or chemicals (e.g., molten salts). Its costs are a fraction of the cost of batteries (10-‐15%).
Game-‐‑changing Power Industry Solution
! Low CAPEX and O&M costs offer highly profitable power generation. ! In particular, the Plants offer the first competitive, clean-‐energy, baseload alternative to conventional
power generation. ! The Plants avoids or overcomes nearly all key challenges facing the widespread deployment of low-‐emissions
power generation, whether wind, PV, hydro, geothermal, or CSP. ! Standardized, factory-‐produced components offer lower costs with production volume, high quality
control, short project schedules, and bankable risk.
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WILSON 247Solar PLANT ADVANTAGES vs OTHER CSP The table below compares 247Solar Plants with the three principal approaches to CSP. In every category, Wilson outperforms conventional CSP.
Power Tower Parabolic Trough Linear Fresnel Wilson 247Solar Plants
Characteristic
Reliability Conventional reliability
Conventional reliability
Conventional reliability
High 9s reliability due to 100s of modules per system.
Power costs
>15 cents/kWh, no path to <10 cents
>15 cents/kWh, no path to <10 cents
>15 cents/kWh, no path to <10 cents
Competitive to start (10-‐13 cents/kWh), highly competitive with mass production, <7 cents)
Permitting, construction, commissioning
3 -‐ 5 years
3 -‐ 5 years
3 -‐ 5 years
<18 months permitting, erection, commissioning
Custom vs. Standard engineering, construction
Custom
Custom
Custom
Standard module, quick erection
Costs
50% of costs in factory, 50% on site, which increase over time
50% of costs in factory, 50% on site, which increase over time
50% of costs in factory, 50% on site, which increase over time
90% of costs in factory, which decrease ~15% with each doubling of output
Required skill level construction, maintenance
Highly-‐skilled Highly-‐skilled Highly-‐skilled Semi-‐skilled
Environmentally challenging materials
Uses water, oils and/or salts
Uses water, oils and/or salts
Uses water, oils and/or salts
None. Uses air; some water for heliostat cleaning
Land type requirements
Typically 2-‐5 sq km, or 2.8 acres/GWh-‐yr; Flat land ideal; round site
Typically 2-‐5 sq km, or 2.5 acres/GWh-‐yr; Requires very flat land; rectangular site
Typically 2-‐5 sq km, or 1.7 acres/GWh-‐yr; Requires very flat land; rectangular site
As little as 4 acres, or 1.25 acres/GWh-‐yr; OK on rolling hills, irregular shapes; even landfills
Scalability Large-‐scale only; ties into transmission system
Large-‐scale only; ties into transmission system
Large-‐scale only; ties into transmission system
Small-‐ and large-‐scale; ties into either transmission or distribution system
WILSON 247SOLAR PLANT COST COMPARISONS WITH OTHER TECHNOLOGIES
The table below compares the CAPEX of a new 1000-‐megawatt power plant (a typical coal plant size) using a wide variety of power generation technologies, including coal, nuclear, photovoltaics, wind, conventional CSP, and Wilson 247Solar Plants. It also compares Capacity Factors and the CAPEX cost per kilowatt-‐hour produced by each technology type each year. Finally, it compares the costs per kilowatt-‐hour of the energy produced by each technology type, both currently and in the future. It assumes continued cost increases for
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coal and nuclear and price declines for PV, wind, CSP, and Wilson’s CSP. The fundamental conclusion of this table is that the lowest cost solution for a 1000 MW power plant today uses 247Solar Plants. The CAPEX for such a plant is just $0.50 per kWh produced each year by the plant. The cost per kWh produced by 247Solar Plants vies with wind and PV for the lowest, ultimately under $0.06/kWh. Of course, 247Solar Plants can operate all time, 24/7/365 (approaching 100% Capacity Factor), not just when the wind is blowing (24% Capacity Factor) or the sun is shining (18% Capacity Factor).
CAPEX, $Billion
Capacity factor, %
CAPEX $/kWh/yr
Cents/kWh today
Cents/kWh future
New coal 4 80 0.60 9+ 10+
New nuclear 6 90 0.75 9+ 10+
Photovoltaics 1.7 18 0.95 8 5-‐6
Wind 2.5 24 1.20 6 5-‐6
CSP 7 75 1.05 18 10-‐12
Wilson CSP 4.5 100 0.50 8 5-‐6
Comparison of Wilson 247Solar Plants with PV
The following table compares the economics of a single 247Solar Plant (400 kWe) with an equivalent size PV array. Even with the recent reductions in the cost of photovoltaics, the Wilson 247Solar Plant can be a better investment than PV:
1. The CAPEX of a 247Solar Plant is less than the CAPEX of a PV plant on the basis of CAPEX per kilowatt-‐hour produced each year ($/kWh-‐yr).
2. The CAPEX of a 247Solar Plant compared with its gross annual revenue is superior to the CAPEX of a PV plant compared with its gross annual revenue.
3. CHP (Combined Heating Power) versions of the Wilson 247Solar Plant can provide even greater superiority to a PV plant.
PV Wilson CSP
Capacity: kWe 400 400
Annual Operation: hours/yr 1752 8760
Total Annual Output: kWh/yr 700,800 3,504,000
Value of Power (tariff): $/kWh $0.12 $0.12
Annual Revenue: $/yr 84,000 420,000
Fuel Cost @$5/MBTU, 2760 hr/yr: $/yr 0 55,000
Total Annual Revenue: $/yr 84,000 365,000
System CAPEX: $/kW ~1500 ~5,000
Total System CAPEX: $ ~600,000 ~2,000,000
Total system CAPEX:total annual revenue 7.1 5.5
CAPEX ($) per kWh-‐yr (Total System CAPEX per Total Annual Output)
0.86 0.57
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Wilson Solarpower Board of Advisors David M. Walker, Senior Vice President of Bechtel Group (retired).
S. David Freeman, former head of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the New York Power Authority, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP).
Robert Hemphill, former CEO of AES Solar and Executive Vice President (retired) of AES Corp (4th largest global utility).
Dave Belote, former Commander of Nellis Air Force Base. Kymus Ginwala, former CEO Northern Research and Engineering Corporation (NREC).
A large-‐scale power plant using 100s of Wilson 247Solar Plants
For more information, please contact: WILSON SOLARPOWER CORP.
Bruce N. Anderson, CEO 617-‐290-‐9913
“I strongly believe Wilson will deliver the cheaper and simpler solution that CSP must have to succeed.”
Jan Drathen, Head of Concentrated Solar Power Fleet at E.ON Climate & Renewables GmbH