Renew Economy: As RenewEconomy wrote in its profile of the company last month, the company is planning on volume production of its technology in 2015. It has already teamed up with solar power systems supplier JKB Energy, and Roush Industries, a leading developer of automotive and energy systems.
It is targeting systems from 100kW to 20MW that operate 24/7, and promises a "compelling" payback for off-grid and on-grid power. Its initial focus will be industrial and agricultural sectors, particularly in those locations which have expensive or inadequate grids, or where waste heat can be used to improve the efficiency of industrial operations.
The first pilot project was installed in an irrigated almond farm in California's Central Valley (pictured), and the company sees a huge demand among the irrigated farm community, particularly in the solar-rich south west of the US, and in Australia. Irrigated farm operations in Australia are watching with interest, because if the company delivers what it says it can, it will be an attractive proposition.
Terrajoule says it is aiming in 2015 for a price per peak watt of $1.50 to $2.00 at a 20 per cent capacity factor, depending on system size, the strength of the solar resource (DNI) and other factors. Mostly, this is comparable to the price for a PV solar panel system (without storage) at the equivalent capacity factor.
But it says its price of net electrical storage capacity will be less than $100/kWh. This is a fraction of the cost of most battery storage technologies, and comes without cycle limitations, degradation of capacity, disposal costs, and all balance of system costs. It sees further cost falls as production is scaled up.
Terrajoule's chief technology office Robert Mierisch searched back into the historical manuals to develop his idea of using the 300-year-old technology of a steam engine and a pressurised water tank as the means of storage and delivering electricity and/or waste heat on demand. Its proposal use a type of steam engine that has been out of service for decades, apart from tourist ferry or two, has raised eyebrows....