www.csua.org/u/vtm -> news.yahoo.com/solar-power-station-spain-works-night-000342166.html
The Torresol Energy Gemasolar plant in Fuentes de Andalucia near Seville. The unique thermosolar power station in southern Spain can shrug off cloudy days: energy stored when the sun shines lets it produce electricity even during the night.
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (left) with Spain's King Juan Carlos at last year's opening of the solar power plant. Torresol Energy is a joint venture between the Spanish engineering group Sener, which holds 60 percent, and Abu Dhabi-financed renewable energy firm Masdar.
It is the station's capacity to store energy that makes Gemasolar so different because it allows the plant to transmit power during the night, relying on energy it has accumulated during the day. A unique thermosolar power station in southern Spain can shrug off cloudy days: energy stored when the sun shines lets it produce electricity even during the night. The Gemasolar station, up and running since last May, stands out in the plains of Andalusia. From the road between Seville and Cordoba, one can see its central tower lit up like a beacon by 2,600 solar mirrors, each 120 square metres (1,290 square feet), that surround it in an immense 195-hectare (480-acre) circle. "It is the first station in the world that works 24 hours a day, a solar power station that works day and night!" said Santago Arias, technical director of Torresol Energy, which runs the station. The mechanism is "very easy to explain," he said: the panels reflect the suns rays on to the tower, transmitting energy at an intensity 1,000 times higher than that of the sun's rays reaching the earth. Energy is stored in a vat filled with molten salts at a temperature of more than 500 degrees C (930 F). Those salts are used to produce steam to turn the turbines and produce electricity. It is the station's capacity to store energy that makes Gemasolar so different because it allows the plant to transmit power during the night, relying on energy it has accumulated during the day. "I use that energy as I see fit, and not as the sun dictates," Arias explained. As a result, the plant produces 60 percent more energy than a station without storage capacity because it can work 6,400 hours a year compared to 1,200-2,000 hours for other solar power stations, he said. "The amount of energy we produce a year is equal to the consumption of 30,000 Spanish households," Arias said, an annual saving of 30,000 tonnes of CO2. Helped by generous state aid, renewable energies have enjoyed a boom in Spain, the world number two in solar energy and the biggest wind power producer in Europe, ahead of Germany. For the Gemasolar solar product, foreign investors helped too: Torresol Energy is a joint venture between the Spanish engineering group Sener, which holds 60 percent, and Abu Dhabi-financed renewable energy firm Masdar. "This type of station is expensive, not because of the raw material we use, which is free solar energy, but because of the enormous investment these plants require," Arias said. The investment cost exceeds 200 million euros ($260 million). For now, the economic crisis has nevertheless cast a shadow over this kind of project: Spain is battling to slash its deficit as it slides into recession and has suspended aid to new renewable energy projects. "We have three projects ready but stalled" because of the aid suspension, Arias said, admitting that in a difficult global economy the group has not managed to sell the Gemasolar techology abroad despite huge interest outside Spain.
psionycx o 22 hrs ago When one stops to think about it, hydrocarbons (ie fossil fuels) are nothing more than the stockpiles of energy that the ecosystem of the Earth took in from the Sun millions of years ago. Tapping into the energy that the Sun directly hits us with now is just cutting all the excess steps out of the process.
St Louis, Missouri o 19 hrs ago I would like to see those plants built in the Sahara Desert where agriculture is not practical, with a superconducting transmission line through the Strait of Gibraltar.
Palo Alto, California o 2 hrs 4 mins ago Neat o They have thermally insulated holding tanks that can stand up to typically corrosive molten salts. Doing so allows them to have smaller generators/heat exchangers as well as providing a steady energy supply. I am curious what the heat losses on the holding tanks are, but they could do the same energy holding with any renewable plant. The battery could be a different format, but energy storage is as tough a problem as energy generation.
Beaverton, Oregon o 8 hrs ago This isn't new technology. There was a similar plant, Solar One, In Dagget California in the early eighties. I used to see the tower every day driving between the mainside Marine Corp supply base at Barstow and the repair facility where I worked in Nebo. Popular science has run a couple of articles on molten salt power plants over the years.
Bullhead City, Arizona o 7 hrs ago The reason this country doesn't invest in projects like this is we're too busy coming up with cell phones that have 500,000 apps. Americans won't be concerned about solar and wind power until the lights go out. There was a piece on the news this morning about Apples huge bank roll and what they'll do with it.
BrettM o 6 hrs ago It is great reading about other nations building a Hadron Collider, speed trains, solar power stations, better gas mileage.... Then hearing we should not invest in those technologies but are fighting to drill more when every other developed country on earth is trying to get better and we are stuck listening to our idiot Congressmen that would give a trillion dollars to a war they don't even know the reason for but would back out of a million dollars for a good cause.
David o 2 hrs 25 mins ago How does the consumption of 30,000 Spanish homes stack up to 30,000 American homes? I am guessing a normal Spanish home consumes less than an average American home? I only ask, because I want to know if this will supply 30,000 home here. User o 52 mins ago So if everyone really wants to save energy. Why don't we take all the cars off the road and drive golf carts and commuter buses.
Nobody Special o 1 day 1 hr ago We had several of these lined up for construction in the states. When the photo voltaic panel industry found out they were going to be obsolete the price of solar panels dropped like a stone. The plans for modern solar thermal plants was instantly scrapped for the short term profits of cheaper solar panels.
gg o 1 min 30 secs ago Ah such a great way to power the earth that is if you want to cover 50% with solar collectors. This is not new technology was even proposed in the late 60s.
Dieter o 5 hrs ago Spain also piloted a solar tower that uses radiant heat to drive wind turbines. Concept works, Aussie company is working on LARGE scale towers. Far more effective than any of the current solar technologies.
Norfolk, Virginia o 18 mins ago We continually hear of how other countries are more energy efficient than the USA. The environmentalist tout Brazil has being energy in dependant. One of the main reasons for this is the virtual lack of energy consumed by the poor in those countries. They do not own cars so they are forced to use what ever transportation they can. They do not have air conditioners, TV, computers, surround sound systems, nor any of the other appliances that consume electricity. In fact the "poor" in the USA have a lifestyle that compares quite favorably with the blue collar working class in most of the rest of the world.
john smith o 42 mins ago For all of you who want a smaller one, the reason it works is thermal mass. They need to heat a large amount or salt so that at night it can keep heating water until day time.
Solar power station in Spain works at night A unique thermosolar power station in southern Spain can shrug off cloudy days: energy stored when the sun shines lets it produce electricity even during the night.
Panels reflect the sun's rays on to the Gemasolar tower, at an intensity 1,000 times higher than a sunbeam A unique thermosolar power station in southern Spain can shrug off cloudy days: energy stored when the sun shines lets it produce electricity...
|
http://csua.com/feed/