SolarCAT Inc.

The SolarCAT System

SolarCAT is a
concentrated solar power
(CSP) dish system using
solar-heated compressed
air to drive turbines
generating on-peak
power. Air is compressed
with off-peak power at An Illustrated View of a SolarCAT Dish Field
night when demand is low.

Solar dish fields are

built where compressed air can be
economically stored up to 400
psi. Salt caverns, depleted gas
wells, abandoned mines, aban-
doned pipelines, tunnels, or other
Illustration of SolarCAT in an Urban Industrial Setting large geological formations are
suitable for air storage.

Electric motor-driven air compressors operate at night to store air,

preferably from wind power, as wind power is cheapest at night when demand for
energy is lowest. Power is generated during the day, by combining the stored com-
pressed air with solar heat.

75 B Lafayette Road Phone: 603 601 0450

Hampton, NH 03842 Fax: 603 967 4027
Email: Elise@BraytonEnergy.com
 SolarCAT Inc.

How SolarCAT Works

During the day, the compressed air is fed through small pipes to each dish
in the field, where it is heated by the sun to 1700o F. The heated compressed air
drives four small in-line turbines per dish at 120,000 rpm to generate power. In this
way, the SolarCAT dish field adds sunlight energy to the energy stored in the com-
pressed air, thereby increasing the delivered energy
by 66%.

A dish mirror (left) focuses the sun's rays onto an

engine-receiver that heats the compressed air to 1700
o
F. Heated compressed air flows through four small
turbo-alternators (below, right) plumbed to the solar
receiver (gray cone). Turbo-alternators use non-
contacting air bearing (no oil) and can operate at
120,000 rpm with virtually no wear.

The SolarCAT power system has a useful life

of 30-40 years. Since they are geological in nature,
the useful life of salt caverns or other air storage
vessel is indefinite. Compressed air is stored and
ducted to the power conversion equipment at ambi-
ent temperatures, minimizing transport losses, and
is heated sequentially by a recuperator and solar re-
ceiver immediately upstream of the air-driven tur-
bines. Cool, high-pressure transport of the working fluid (air) makes SolarCAT
more efficient than the other methods of concentrated solar power (CSP).

75 B Lafayette Road Phone: 603 601 0450

Hampton, NH 03842 Fax: 603 967 4027
Email: Elise@BraytonEnergy.com
 SolarCAT Inc.

Five SolarCAT dishes generate one Megawatt. With three dishes

per acre, 1 GW of SolarCAT with air storage would require less than 3 square
miles of land – less than half the land of other CSP. Smaller systems can be
installed as well, from 5 MW and up, presenting opportunities for commercial
users, rural communities, and tribal utilities.

A single salt cavern or gas well can provide enough air storage for 1 GW
or more of SolarCAT power. Thousands of GW of air storage capacity for
SolarCAT can be developed in geological formations that are already known.
These opportunities are now being studied by utilities for large scale projects
in California, Iowa, Ohio, and other states.

The
SolarCAT
Plant
Schematic
This diagram
illustrates how the air
compressors store the potential energy of compressed air underground. The
stored air then flows to the receiver where it is heated by the dish, driving the
turbo-alternators.

75 B Lafayette Road Phone: 603 601 0450

Hampton, NH 03842 Fax: 603 967 4027
Email: Elise@BraytonEnergy.com
 SolarCAT Inc.

The Power Supply and Demand Curves

The diagram below shows how the SolarCAT System can store and
then supply power during the course of a 24 hour day to match a typical utility
demand curve.

The Power Stored chart shows three sources of power that can be used to
drive compressors. The black line shows that utility power could be used when
demand is low, from 0-to-6 and 18-to-24 hours (night-time). The red line shows
typical wind production, highest from 0-to-4 and 20-to-24 hours. The light blue
line is the photovoltaic (PV) production curve, an option in the future when PV
prices lower.

The Power Delivered chart shows that SolarCAT would deliver firm power
between 6 and 18 hours, primarily with sunlight. The blue line shows the use of
gas, oil, or bio-fuel when there is no sunlight available. Even when fuel is used,
it is in combination with the stored compressed air. The result is still a very high
fuel efficiency, which can realize substantial fuel savings.

75 B Lafayette Road Phone: 603 601 0450

Hampton, NH 03842 Fax: 603 967 4027
Email: Elise@BraytonEnergy.com
 SolarCAT Inc.

The SolarCAT System

Versus Other CSP Systems
SolarCAT will buy wind power between hours 0 and 4, and between
hours 20 and 24, where the wind power is at its highest output and lowest price.
PV and other sources of green power can be used when not possible by other
utilities, due to load leveling limitations making it available at a low price.

Not only does SolarCAT produce power, it also provides a form of

beneficial energy arbitrage. By buying
power during periods of low demand
and low cost – 4-5 cents per kilowatt-
hour – and increasing it by 66% with
solar input, the sale of this power at pe-
riods of high demand and high cost can
reach as high as 8-14 cents per kilo-
watt-hour.

Other CSP Systems:

Unlike SolarCAT, the more com-
mon steam-based concentrated solar power (CSP) systems operate at lower tem-
peratures and lose substantial energy in the process of generating power. Heating
water or oil to produce steam to drive turbines, storage of energy in the form of
molten salt, hot oil, or hot water, and cycling exhaust through a cooling system
are all sources of energy dissipation. The lower operating temperatures of steam
systems, as well as the numerous heat exchange steps, result in much lower effi-
ciency and therefore higher cost per unit of power produced.

75 B Lafayette Road Phone: 603 601 0450

Hampton, NH 03842 Fax: 603 967 4027
Email: Elise@BraytonEnergy.com
 SolarCAT Inc.

Benefits of the SolarCAT System

Efficiency and Sustainability
The peak theoretical efficiency of a CSP plant is 50%. However, existing CSP systems
such as solar trough are typically much lower in efficiency, and therefore use more land. In
addition, CSP systems typically consume water for cooling, which is a barrier to their use
in the desert.

Storage Efficiency Economic Efficiency

To deliver power on demand, CSP systems
must have energy storage and/or fuel backup.
These are the storage methods of current CSP
systems:
 SolarCAT stores air at ambient tempera-
tures in caverns that can hold enough en-
ergy for a day, a week, or even a year of
operation. Caverns and other air storage
vessels have virtually no losses of air pres-
sure.
 Power Tower systems store energy as
hot water, oil, or molten salt, in containers
that can hold a maximum of a 12 hour sup-
ply of energy. This thermal storage inevita-
bly loses energy through the insulation, and
the pumping of fluids.
SolarCAT uses energy arbitrage. It buys
power during periods of low demand and
low cost – 4-5 cents per kilowatt-hour –
and stores that power in the least costly
manner. Then, SolarCAT increases that
power by 66% and sells it at periods of
high demand and high cost – 8-14 cents
per kilowatt-hour. This is beneficial to
utilities, and can be operated in response
to local requirements.
Existing CSP systems sell only the power
they generate, and suffer additional losses
in any energy they store. Most impor-
tantly, their efficiencies are lower, and as
a consequence, they require far more mir-
ror collectors and structure.

75 B Lafayette Road Phone: 603 601 0450

Hampton, NH 03842 Fax: 603 967 4027
Email: Elise@BraytonEnergy.com
 SolarCAT Inc.

Further Benefits of SolarCAT

Capital Cost & Time for Construction

SolarCAT systems enjoy an increase in daytime output due to the

boost of stored energy with solar energy. This reduces the large-scale
capital cost potential of a SolarCAT plant to about $1.0 billion per GW.
Once a site is established
and construction is
underway, the installation
rate of a large scale sys-
tem is planned to be about
12-14 months per GW.

Existing CSP
systems such as solar
trough are currently
costing about $4 billion
per GW, even though the technology has existed for decades. Power
Tower systems have yet to be commercially successful, despite decades
of research and demonstration projects.

75 B Lafayette Road Phone: 603 601 0450

Hampton, NH 03842 Fax: 603 967 4027
Email: Elise@BraytonEnergy.com
 SolarCAT Inc.

SolarCAT and Other CSP

Technology Comparison

Factors such as water use, efficiency, land requirements, and cost

have presented economic and installation challenges to other CSP tech-
nologies. SolarCAT is designed to overcome these problems.

The chart below compares SolarCAT to other CSP technolo-

gies. Note that as fuel costs and commodity prices such as steel con-
tinue to rise, the advantages that SolarCAT offers in much higher effi-
ciency and low water use will provide increasing benefits over time.

CSP Comparisons
Trough/CLFR SolarCAT w/Air
Dish Stirling Power Tower CPV
with Steam Storage
Abengoa,
BrightSou rce, Amonix,
C ompanies Accion a, Ausra, SES, Infinia eSolar SolFocus SolarCAT
SkyFuels
Water cooling, or co olant/ Water cooling, or exh au st air at
C ooling air co oled
coolant/radiators radiators coolant/radiators 120 F
thermal oil, salt, thermal oil, salt,
Working fluid s hydrogen none air
water, steam water, steam
compressed air
En ergy thermal mass thermal mass
Storage (oil, salt, or water)
none (oil, salt, or water)
none storage of off-
p eak electricity

Efficiency 1 0-17% 20-30% 8-18% 15-33 % 30-37%

Minimum Unit 60 MW 25 kW 33 MW 1 kW 2 00 kW
Acres/MW 5 5 5 5-10 1.6

11

75 B Lafayette Road Phone: 603 601 0450

Hampton, NH 03842 Fax: 603 967 4027
Email: Elise@BraytonEnergy.com