Business Opportunity (Part II)

Business Opportunity

There is a very important aspect to consider. Feeding power at high impedance nodes will cause immediate power quality improvement. We have considered that production between 110 to 150 MW by our solar plant in the proximity of Yachay, could be feeding power into the local lower voltage grid is a key ingredient in the quality of power that we can provide. This will immediately improve the stability and reliability of the power available to the local people as it is served from that feeder. In such a case, investors will be happy with the production. Investment in our plants will also be profitable if the government buys power from these plants at the same rate that it currently pays to big plants feeding power into the Ecuadorian electric grid. But not only had that, on the outset of creating this plan, the founder originally wanted to implement a training facility and we had conceived to invite George mason University to create a campus in Ecuador and issue the degrees in Eolic, solar, geothermal, hydraulic and of course electric engineering.  The plan was presented to the Governor of the Imbabura Province in Ecuador and today Yachay exist. Yachay was conceived later as a city of Knowledge, interesting as we had conceived the idea as Techno city. Nevertheless, the government may need to come back to our original idea, since we had planned to simply ask the government of Ecuador to allow 15% of the profits to go directly to fund the “training facility” and in exchange to have those 15% as credit on taxes. The same can be applied here and Sunlight Energy Enterprises simply will make the payments to Yachay.

Right location of the plant:

One major problem with solar power plants is that an unusually large area is required for each kilowatt of power. As much as 1 square meter of space is wasted to generate 100 W of peak power. Until now, our design and our scheme of a solar pyramid not only will produce as much electricity as any other plant with the same amount of panels, but the size is reduced considerably by stacking them if you will in a pyramid, which allows the panels to be exposed to the sun all twelve hours daily. With our design we will save lots of land. While in other solar plants there are no trees and tall structures casting shadows on solar array, we will built the pyramid in such a way that lots of vegetation will actually be planted all around the land surrounding the solar facility. However as the pyramid will be on the top of a mountain, then all the vegetation will not shadow the pyramid and rather will act as a cooling environment. The place also is secure and free from birds and other animals. Our location is at an altitude of about 2800 meters above sea level, making it the solar plant closest to the sun and the highest in the world, the location is barren non-arable land and while is close to small towns and rural areas. The city of Yachay will eventually will be closed and as their needs arise we will have the possibility of expanding and building more pyramids or realizing our larger pyramid.

The huge difference:

Strong financial backing:

The costs involved in setting up a solar power plant are multiple which can be in terms of time, money, effort and knowledge. In terms of money, developing a solar power plant requires a huge investment. Estimated costs can easily vary from 10-25 million per MW capacity. The total investment as per Sunlight Energy Enterprises target of 120 MW is about 25 million; the main reason is the huge reduction on cost of the land. While similar enterprises will require a massive amount of land, we can probably have up to three small pyramids in about 5 hectares. The large pyramid will eventually extend the whole area to only 18 hectares but production will be easily as many as ten times the production of similar power plants in size. Land in the area where we have targeted being on the top of mountains is much cheaper and the saving is very considerable. Financing of solar energy projects in Ecuador are a huge problem. However, we should be in a very sound economic position as we will sell stock and raise the necessary funds through eager investors in energy. During the first phase of the solar mission, many companies fail to get licenses as they cannot meet financial obligations. We must strive to have a proper Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with the central government of Ecuador to avoid the risk of a default by state manipulation of political turmoil if it ever arises. Delaying payments and even defaulting on financial institutions and banks is not unheard of in Ecuador.

In the first Center of Renewable Energy CRE, we will begin with the construction of the solar pyramid. It is relatively easy to build and revenue will start coming in as quickly as four months from the beginning of construction. Our concept involves the construction of a solar pyramid that will also serve as housing for future plants. The first pyramid will be small in size and eventually we will build one bigger in size, in fact our largest should be the size of the pyramid of Giza, which means a pyramid of thirteen acres in size becoming the most beautiful tourist attraction in Ecuador and that in turn will become another source of income for the company and its investors. The first year we will be capable of producing about 5 MW, the second at least 20 MW. By the third year we expect to reach production of 120MW (four pyramids). At the same time one of our pyramids will house the geothermal turbine for Chachimbiro. We must emphasize that due to the geographical location of our plant in respect to the earth and the sun, we simply will enjoy the strongest and hotter solar productivity than anywhere else in the planet due to the closer proximity of the sun as we explain further.

Geothermal Power

The geothermal resource based on preliminary studies paid by several governments and several companies seem to indicate that is between 4500 to 6000 meters deep and water will be obtained with temperatures between 56 º C to 260 º C with a volume of at least 270 liters per second, (about 72 gallons per second) the geothermal water is fed to a water condenser to remove vapors: alkali choride, salt crystals and minerals. Then the water feeds a " vaporizer "vapor that delivers maximum intensity at a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces alternating current AC, which feed a transformer / monitored for the distribution of electricity meter. The steam is fed to a natural capacitor, to prevent steam from being wasted in three chimneys vapor, unlike other facilities our system will use a system through covered pipes, while the cooling system is a network of multiple reservoirs and pools to cool the water. In the process of the water will be purified and bottled for sale as natural water. Besides, that will earn more revenue for the company. This water will feed a hydraulic turbine capable of producing 30MW of electricity,

with a “head" of 53 feet (17 meters) and flow 270 liters per min (72 gps). The water will be deposited in a new reservoir which again will feed another turbine / generator (Archimedean), hydropower production will be at least 30MW of hydraulic power with a facility much smaller than any other plant. The power generation capacity to utilize solar energy involves a revolutionary system in the industry as production increases and is used not one but four forms of renewable energy and it is the most efficient manner in which we can protect the environment reducing pollution. At the same time minimizing energy waste and increases the production of each center electricity production without causing further damage to the environment.

Hydro Complex 

Sunlight Energy plants to build also a group of structures to take advantage of a unique hydro engineering scheme and unified by their arrangement and by a common operational purpose. The Hydro complex becomes the proper use of a resource out of a common purpose. It is the most efficient way to reach efficiency in power engineering, in water transportation, or in water intake and consumption management. The fact that we will have a steam turbine means we take a geothermal resource and have water available, but said water needs to be injected into the volcano not to lose the geothermal resource.  We will utilize such available water with a unique hydro engineering complex which will enable us to simultaneously serve several purposes of water management.

Sunlight Energy has devised then a Hydro engineering complex which will serve several purposes. On one hand it will help cool off the water that comes out of the steam turbine. Then it leads to several pools and reservoirs that will serve as a tourist attraction, and of course it will be housed under the solar pyramid that will also house the steam turbine.  Then some of this water will be directed towards a pressurized water tank on top of the pyramid (each foot means 2.31 psi of pressure) which then will be release though a stock pipe into a hydraulic turbine that will power several generators though an intricate and unique gear system. All along the solar panels of our solar pyramid will also be producing electricity though photovoltaic cells and though our new parabolic solar dishes. Later all the water gets collected and eventually it leads to a manmade waterfall where we will engineered a system where part of the water will be used on the hydraulic power production through more Archimedean turbines. Our system is revolutionary and using the latest technology and we can create the needed head—that is, by the difference in water level between the head race and the tail water. To produce an adequate high-head complex we need to have a head exceeding 40 m, in our large pyramid we will have at least 87 meters, therefore we have designed our complex to serve several purposes simultaneously, such as power generation, increasing the beauty of the Province by creating a unique waterfall, and having the pumping injection of the water into the Chachimbiro complex.

The structures comprising our hydro engineering complex ensures the normal operation of the hydro engineering complex; these structures, in turn, can be subdivided into general structures and special structures. General structures will include the pools, the reservoirs and then the dam, the waterfall and surface and subsurface spillways, sludge, scum, and silt, structures for flow regulation, and connecting structures. Such general structures provide the required head of water pressure, the required capacity of the water storage basin, and other hydraulic conditions called for by the changing hydrological state of the water flow of our man made “river”. Special structures include hydroelectric power stations.

Auxiliary structures include living quarters, administrative and supply offices, buildings for cultural and community services, and structures required for water supply, sewerage, and roads. Temporary structures (cofferdams, storerooms for construction materials, concrete shops and reinforcement shops, workshops, access roads) are usually functional only during the construction of a hydro engineering complex, but sometimes such temporary structures may be integrated into permanent structures (for instance, a cofferdam may become a part of a permanent dam). Sometimes there are additional structures, such as transit roads and bridges crossing the site of a hydro engineering. The arrangement of a hydro engineering complex—that is, of the structures that form the so-called head front—is called the line-up. The respective location of the basic structures is called the layout of the complex. The layout presents a complicated engineering problem, which must be solved taking into account operational, structural, technical, and economic requirements. The great variety of environmental and local conditions that can be encountered makes it impossible to establish standardized rules for the arrangement and layout of a hydro engineering complex. These questions are solved individually in each case, taking into account the whole complex of conditions and requirements and considering the character of interaction among buildings.

Besides solving water-management problems, the structures of a hydro engineering complex must also fulfill certain aesthetic requirements. Such structures serve to create an architectural unity, organically integrated into the environment. The whole area of a hydro engineering complex should show a clear-cut architectural and functional zoning. Often a hydro engineering complex influences the planning and building of a whole area. We intend to build a beautiful cascade while at the same time integrating power generating turbines. The main structures influencing the architectural harmony of a hydro engineering complex are the dam, the hydroelectric power plant, and the ship lock with the head-races. While some run-off, may be used for other purposes in this case the water will be mostly used to be pumped back into the Chachimbiro volcano for the continued generation of electric power. This hydro engineering complex will includes an earth and dam of about 80 meters in height, a shore spillway, a water-catchment tunnel, and a power plant building.

Pictures of Francis and Pelton turbines and standard wind turbines.