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Southwest Solar Technologies Find out what Herb Hayden has developed 10,000 feet underground, right next to a military base.
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hen Herb Hayden, president of Southwest Solar Technologies, Inc., developed a way to combine energy storage with solar-dish technology, he knew he was onto something hot. Hayden, whose home-base is located in Phoenix, Ariz., paired up sun and air power to create Renewable Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES). To make CAES capable, Hayden uses the SolarCAT system, owned by his other company, SolarCAT Inc. This system utilizes turbine engines fueled by sunlight-heated compressed air to create power storage. “It does something other solar technologies don’t do,” Hayden said. “It runs like an aircraft turbine blowing the hot air out the back. So it’s desert friendly,” he stressed, adding that the system does not require water or solar panels. The solar-heated compressed air drives the turbines and power is generated during the day by combining stored, compressed air with solar heat. Air compressors store air at night from wind power when it is cheapest and demand for energy is low. The stored air power then boosts the daytime solar output. 4 Energy 4 Energy Leaders Leaders Today TodayWinter Winter 2009 2009
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Reaching Underground & Up to the Sky By Rebecca Rodriguez
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There has to be affordable energy and a reliable way to meet needs. Herb Hayden, president of Southwest Solar Technologies, Inc.,
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The Solar dish fields, typically from 50 megawatts (MW) and higher, are built where compressed air can be economically stored underground at 350 psi, Hayden said. The consistency and reliability of underground storage makes it a unique new tool. Hayden started two different companies, Southwest Solar and SolarCAT Inc., in 2008 to accommodate the joining of two separate technologies – project and sir storage development, as well as technology development and manufacturing. Having worked in the utility business for many years, Hayden said he has perspective on what will make solar energy use grow stronger in the U.S. “There has to be affordable energy and a reliable way to meet needs,” he said. In Arizona, the state has much sunshine and restraints on water use, making the SolarCAT system ideal. Acquisition of usable land is a major part of Hayden’s business as the technologies require finding largescale underground salt cabins. These are usually millions of cubic feet and hold compressed air easily. Arizona is known for its salt mining. A recent land acquisition by Hayden was for property above an asteroid-sized expanse of underground salt. “It starts one thousand feet underground and extends to a depth of about 10,000 feet,” he said. Most people are not even aware of it. ” The site is near a military Air Force base which is mutually beneficial for both parties because the military would prefer not to have residential construction nearby. Military personnel are also interested in Hayden’s technology, not just his land acquisitions. He said he has received inquiries from military researchers interested in new, alternative energy technologies. Shipping around fuel in tanker trucks to different operating
bases is expensive and dangerous. “There’s a heightened interest in reliability,” Hayden said of his storage capabilities. Solar panels and wind mills lack a consistency of energy output, making Hayden’s SolarCAT and CAES technologies a new tool for the “green industry.” Hayden expects to see direct competition on his design soon, but for now, he said, there is none out there with the same economic potential. The first test site for SolarCAT is currently being constructed at the Riverpoint Solar Research Park in Phoenix. Five of the new solar dish concentrator systems will generate 1 MW of combined solar energy and energy storage. Each solar dish produces 200 kilowatts of power and the project has the potential to grow to 5 MW. The 18-acre test site is south of the city’s airport and quite visible from Interstate 10, in which about 100,000 vehicles pass each day. Southwest Solar started the Riverpoint project in the hopes of advancing solar energy and advancing environmental programs to meet the green imperative in the state. The site will also act as a non-profit training industry teaming up with The University of Arizona and The University of Phoenix. Hayden has an ambitious vision for his company stretching five years ahead. He would like to be producing and selling SolarCAT as a commodity product worldwide and to have a west valley project in Phoenix completed for 100 MW or more. “We want to show that this technology works and is more attractive economically than existing options,” Hayden said. Hayden watches the advances in technology closely. Much of the research is happening in the U.S., while the
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manufacturing is coming out of Europe and Asia. He expects his product will soon generate worldwide interest. A U.S. example of worldwide success is First Solar located in Tempe, Ariz. It’s the fastest growing manufacturer of solar panels in the world. It is also the number one success story in the U.S. and the stock price skyrocketed when the company went public, Hayden said. In Europe, persistence is stronger with developing new energy technology. “They have a pent up desire to be the first ones to come up with new products,” Hayden said.
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It does something other solar technologies don’t do. It runs like an aircraft turbine blowing the hot air out the back. So it’s desert friendly.
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corporate corporate| profile | solar OF W M 1 E GENERAT
S CAN E H S I D AR L O GE. S A R O E T S V Y G FI R E ND EN A Y G R E N E R LA COMBINED SO EACH DISH PRODUCES 200 KILOWATTS.
But persistence with advancing energy technology is not as strong and consistent in the U.S. and comes and goes as tax credits go up and down. “How much energy comes from solar and renewables in this country is in the single digits,” he said. However, interest is growing rapidly as of late and people seem more excited about how to make money from new products here, just as in Europe. The 2009 Solar Power International conference in Anaheim, Calif., is the largest solar event to date in the U.S. and brought in about 25,000 attendees for that year. A few years ago, attendance was around 2,000, Hayden noted. The U.S. is slowing becoming a big market, soon to be competing on the scale of European countries, most notably, Germany. Reliability and cost remains the key issues with Americans interested in an energy substitute. Interestingly, the downturn in the economy has benefited Hayden’s business because he has been working to acquire land which is now less expensive. He has no revenue because he is not yet selling a product. “I have more options now,” he said. “It’s a good time to be working on something new.” Hayden has grand plans for placing his companies on the forefront of the wave of new energy technology about to sweep over the country. And he has the cutting edge momentum to bring his product into the national and international sunlit spotlight. ELT 10 1Energy 0 Energy Leaders Leaders Today TodayWinter Winter 2009 2009
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