Solar power proved it’s night performance
In May of 2011 in Spain, was commissioned in solar thermal power, which concentrates solar energy by means of mirrors and stocking it in the form of heat at night and even at times of low insolation. In an average year it is able to work 6400 hours, three to four times the rates for such facilities in this climatic zone.
GelioTES Gemasolar, owned by Torresol Energy, – the world’s first commercial geoliotermal station with heat storage in molten salts. As conceived by the designers, it is designed to demonstrate the ability to store large amounts of energy for a long time. Now, in the late winter of 2011-2012, the test can be considered successfully passed: the average utilization rate of installed capacity of power plants was 74%. This is in the history of solar thermal and solar plants is observed for the first time.
Around this central tower gelioTES having a height of 140 m apart 2650 reflecting mirrors, each of which has a surface area of 120 square meters. The total area of power – 195 hectares (1.85 sqv. km ), although the area of reflecting mirrors (effective area of solar collectors) – total 304 000 sqv.m. Construction, located in the municipality of Fuentes de Andalucia (Seville province), is the first commercial power plant of this type, designed to work around the clock most of the year.
Power station is not large – only 19.9 MW, but the annual output of 110 GW • h And it’s not theory, but the bottom line for the past 9 months (on an annualized basis). Although the year of continuous operation is not over yet, but the worst part for solar power is over: the length of daylight increases – and thus, by May, weighted average station can only increase. The company is looking at the world the best experts in the field of photovoltaik jobs.
The key point of the project – is due to what Gemasolar can produce as much energy. The station is working (although not always at full power), 6400 hours per year from 8670 hours total time, with a capacity factor of 74%. For energy storage in the dark and sunless periods of non-durable (in winter) is used the capacity of the molten salt circulating at temperatures up to 560 ˚ C. Heat accumulator stores up to 600 MW • h of energy, which operates the station up to 15 hours even without sunlight. Thus, more than four months of the year, from May to September, gelioTES operates round the clock at full capacity. And even from October to April can work harder for other stations of this type without a heat accumulator (up to 14 hours on sunny winter days).
Molten salt heats the water in the secondary circuit, and is formed with a low-temperature steam turns a turbine. According to the photovoltaik jobs, both the capacity of the molten salts with relatively small: they are only 6 250 tonnes, that for heat storage capacity of 600 MW • h is not so much. The practical efficiency of the plant is 18%, it is this part of the sunlight incident on the mirror, is converted into electricity.
The construction cost was about Gemasolar € 200 million ($ 260 million, including the settlement of land issues), which gives more than $ 13 thousand per kilowatt-hour of installed capacity. Of course, this figure is a bit deceiving: Solar thermal power plants of any conventional or solar panels on the solar cells do not work 6 400-6 500 hours a year, so a direct comparison of the value of the input power is inapplicable here. Even the representatives of the Gemasolar acknowledge that they had to order a special turbines and heating equipment as well as conventional thermal power plants have very different parameters of the coolant. Also, the cost of special materials used in construction impact, such as base plate and new types of metals. Naturally, the cost of individual order exceeding the normal price in the industry, but the mass construction of such plants could greatly improve the price situation.
In particular, as operating manager rests on the lack of Gemasolar need for fuel. Santiago Arias, managing gelioTES, and notes that in 2003, when the project started, everyone thought Torresol Energy cranks who put money into “green”, but the non-profit project. “But then a barrel of oil cost $ 28, and now he is more than $ 120. Give the power industry for 10 years in the same spirit, and already they seem eccentric. ” According to Mr. Arias is 18 years after the start of operation of the plant operator intends to repay all the borrowed money.
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