From Megawatt to Gigawatt: New Developments in Concentrating Solar Thermal Power

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Mu¨ller-Steinhagen
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Operating Experience ◽  
Plant Size ◽  
Solar Thermal ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
New Developments ◽  
Solar Thermal Power

On October 30th 2009, a major industrial consortium initiated the so-called DESERTEC project which aims at providing by 2050 15% of the European electricity from renewable energy sources in North Africa, while at the same time securing energy, water, income and employment for this region. In the heart of this concept are solar thermal power plants which can provide affordable, reliable and dispatchable electricity. While this technology has been known for about 100 years, new developments and market introduction programs have recently triggered world-wide activities leading to the present project pipeline of 8.5 GW and 42 billion Euro. To become competitive with mid-load electricity from conventional power plants within the next 10–15 years, mass production of components, increased plant size and planning/operating experience will be accompanied by technological innovations which are presently in the development or even demonstration stage. The scale of construction, the high temperatures and the naturally transient operation provide formidable challenges for academic and industrial R&D. Experimental and theoretical research involving all mechanisms of heat transfer and fluid flow is required together with large-scale demonstration to resolve the combined challenges of performance and cost.

scholarly journals Concentrating solar thermal power

2013 ◽  
Vol 371 (1996) ◽  
pp. 20110433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Müller-Steinhagen
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Operating Experience ◽  
Solar Thermal ◽  
Operational Experience ◽  
Thermal Power Plants ◽  
Planning Stage ◽  
Solar Thermal Power ◽  
Advanced Planning

In addition to wind and photovoltaic power, concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) will make a major contribution to electricity provision from renewable energies. Drawing on almost 30 years of operational experience in the multi-megawatt range, CSP is now a proven technology with a reliable cost and performance record. In conjunction with thermal energy storage, electricity can be provided according to demand. To date, solar thermal power plants with a total capacity of 1.3 GW are in operation worldwide, with an additional 2.3 GW under construction and 31.7 GW in advanced planning stage. Depending on the concentration factors, temperatures up to 1000 ° C can be reached to produce saturated or superheated steam for steam turbine cycles or compressed hot gas for gas turbine cycles. The heat rejected from these thermodynamic cycles can be used for sea water desalination, process heat and centralized provision of chilled water. While electricity generation from CSP plants is still more expensive than from wind turbines or photovoltaic panels, its independence from fluctuations and daily variation of wind speed and solar radiation provides it with a higher value. To become competitive with mid-load electricity from conventional power plants within the next 10–15 years, mass production of components, increased plant size and planning/operating experience will be accompanied by technological innovations. On 30 October 2009, a number of major industrial companies joined forces to establish the so-called DESERTEC Industry Initiative, which aims at providing by 2050 15 per cent of European electricity from renewable energy sources in North Africa, while at the same time securing energy, water, income and employment for this region. Solar thermal power plants are in the heart of this concept.

Ultimate Trough: The New Parabolic Trough Collector Generation for Large Scale Solar Thermal Power Plants

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus-Ju¨rgen Riffelmann ◽  
Daniela Graf ◽  
Paul Nava
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Thermal Storage ◽  
Solar Thermal ◽  
Thermal Power Plants ◽  
Large Power ◽  
Solar Thermal Power ◽  
Aperture Width ◽  
Solar Field

From 1984 to 1992, the first commercial solar thermal power plants — SEGS I to IX — were built in the Californian Mojave desert. The first generation of trough collectors (LS1) used in SEGS I showed an aperture area of about 120 m2 (1’292 ft2), having an aperture width of 2.5 m (8.2 ft). With the second generation collector (LS2), used in SEGS II to VI, the aperture width was doubled to 5 m (16.4 ft). The third generation (LS3) has been increased regarding width (5.76 m or 18.9 ft) and length (96 m or 315 ft) to about 550 m2 (5’920 ft2) aperture. It was used in the last SEGS plants VIII and IX, those plants having a capacity of 80 MW each. After more than 10 years stagnancy, several commercial plants in the US (the 64 MW Nevada Solar One project) and Spain (the ANDASOL projects, 50 MW each with 8 h thermal storage) started operation in 2007/2008. New collectors have been developed, but all are showing similar dimensions as either the LS2 or the LS3 collector. One reason for this is the limited availability of key components, mainly the parabolic shaped mirrors and heat collection elements. However, in order to reduce cost, solar power projects are getting larger and larger. Several projects in the range of 250 MW, with and without thermal storage system, are going to start construction in 2011, requiring solar field sizes of 1 to 2.5 Million m2. FLABEG, market leader of parabolic shaped mirrors and e.g. mirror supplier for all SEGS plants and most of the Spanish plants, has started the development of a new collector generation to serve the urgent market needs: lower cost and improved suitability for large solar fields. The new generation will utilize accordingly larger reflector panels and heat collection elements attended by advanced design, installation methods and control systems at the same time. The so-called ‘Ultimate Trough’ collector is showing an aperture area of 1’667 m2 (17’944 ft2), with an aperture width of 7.5 m (24.6 ft). Some design features are presented in this paper, showing how the new and huge dimensions could be realized without compromising stiffness, and bending of the support structure and improving the optical performance at the same time. Solar field layouts for large power plants are presented, and solar field cost savings in the range of 25% are disclosed.

scholarly journals The Evaluation of Solar Contribution in Solar Aided Coal-Fired Power Plant

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongrong Zhai ◽  
Yongping Yang ◽  
Yong Zhu ◽  
Denggao Chen
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Energy Resource ◽  
Solar Thermal ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Solar Thermal Power

Solar aided coal-fired power plants utilize various types of solar thermal energy for coupling coal-fired power plants by using the characteristics of various thermal needs of the plants. In this way, the costly thermal storage system and power generating system will be unnecessary while the intermittent and unsteady way of power generation will be avoided. Moreover, the large-scale utilization of solar thermal power and the energy-saving aim of power plants will be realized. The contribution evaluating system of solar thermal power needs to be explored. This paper deals with the evaluation method of solar contribution based on the second law of thermodynamics and the principle of thermoeconomics with a case of 600 MW solar aided coal-fired power plant. In this study, the feasibility of the method has been carried out. The contribution of this paper is not only to determine the proportion of solar energy in overall electric power, but also to assign the individual cost components involving solar energy. Therefore, this study will supply the theoretical reference for the future research of evaluation methods and new energy resource subsidy.

scholarly journals Techno-Economic Feasibility Analysis of Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Plants as Dispatchable Renewable Energy Resource of Pakistan: A case study of Tharparkar

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-40
Author(s):  
Kush Lohana ◽  
Aqeel Raza ◽  
Nayyar Hussain Mirjat ◽  
Suhail Ahmed Shaikh ◽  
Shoaib Ahmed Khatri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Energy Resource ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Solar Thermal ◽  
Peak Demand ◽  
Solar Thermal Power ◽  
Power Stations

Pakistan is identified to be one of the next-11 the top emerging economies of the world after the BRICS. This emphasizes the establishment of a competitive electricity market that can fulfil the demand of the country considering the environmental concerns. In this scenario reliability of power is something that cannot be compromised. Dispatchable power stations play a major role in balancing supply and demand; this balance is essential for maintaining the power cuts free country. All dispatchable power stations incorporate some form of storage particularly thermal or chemical (i.e. a stored fuel).  Earlier dispatchable power was regarded as the generation which can start quickly and meet the peak demand requirements but arrival of renewables in power system has increased worth of its presence since it has just not to supply peak demand but also to meet during the unavailability of other renewable energy sources because of their intermittent behavior meanly at times of dark hours and slow wind speed. This study considers the viability of Concentrated Solar Thermal Power in Pakistan and thoroughly analyses several characteristics i.e., Availability of fuel, water, road and communication network, flexibility and environmental impacts of the technology for the cite of Tharparkar.

Dry Cooling in Solar Thermal Power Plants

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaya Goswami
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Solar Thermal ◽  
Passive Cooling ◽  
Thermal Power Plants ◽  
Solar Thermal Power ◽  
Cooling Methods ◽  
Dry Cooling

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance metrics of a solar thermal power plant with dry cooling and further implement a method to increase the cycle efficiency, using passive cooling techniques within the dry cooling cycle. Current methods implementing dry cooled condensation use an air-cooled condenser for heat rejection. While this reduces the water consumption of the plant, it results in performance penalties in the overall plant between 5–10% [1]. Passive cooling methods can be used to alleviate the performance penalties. While passive cooling methods have been studied and used on a small scale, this model explores the possibilities of applying these methods to large-scale solar thermal power plants. Based on the model developed, it was found that underground-cooling techniques can improve the performance of the overall dry cooled solar thermal power plant by up to 3% at peak dry bulb temperatures. This study finds that there is a possibility to apply these passive cooling techniques on a large scale to yield positive results.

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