“ SOLAR THERMAL POWER GENERATION

TECHNOLOGIES FOR INDUSTRIAL

APPLICATIONS – A STUDY”

By:

Shirish Garud
Fellow, TERI, New Delhi
&
S.Chandrasekhar
Mitsui Babcock Energy (India) Pvt Ltd.

ENERGY CONSERVATION MISSION

The Institution of Engineers (India)
(Established 1920, incorporated by Royal Charter 1935)
Andhra Pradesh State Centre

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 Topics Covered
• Need for development of renewable sources of energy.
• Commercial solar technologies available.
• Focus on emerging technologies in solar power generation.
- Parabolic trough.
- Solar Tower.
- The solar chimney concept.
- Solar - Stirling engine concept
• Integration of solar thermal power with existing captive power.
plants in industries like pulp and paper industries.

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Need for development of renewable sources of
energy
• Global energy consumption – 9741 mtoe in 2003
• India’s energy consumption – 345.3 mtoe
• Growing Indian economy is posing an increasing demand on
energy sector.
• India’s coal reserves are expected to last for about 230 years at
the present rate of consumption.
• By 2007, India’s oil consumption is expected to reach 136 mt and
most of this has to be imported.
• The share of hydel power stands at 25% in 2004.
• The exploitable hydel potential is 84000 MWe. However, there
are likely to be major environmental issues to be tackled.
• Nuclear power contributes to about 2.4% of the electricity
generated in India.

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 SOLAR ENERGY

WHY SOLAR ENERGY?

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 Solar Energy

• Solar energy is readily available and free source of renewable

energy.
• It is estimated that the solar energy equivalent of 15000 times the
world’s commercial energy consumption reaches the earth every
year.
• India receives more than 1500h of sunshine in major parts of the
country.

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 Utilisation of solar energy on commercial
scale
• So far the harnessing of solar energy has been on small scale and
too minuscule to have an impact on energy scenario.
• Producing electricity from solar energy is relatively straight forward.
• The different technologies available for power generation are :
- Solar photovoltaic
- Solar thermal.

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 Solar Thermal Power
• Solar Thermal technology promises cost effectiveness with fossil
fuel plants in the future.
• Solar Thermal power (STP) technologies rely on four basic key
elements:
- Concentrator
- Receiver
- Transport-storage
- Power conversion

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 Solar Thermal Power … (Cont’d)
• The concentrator captures and concentrates solar radiation
• The receiver absorbs the concentrated sunlight and transfers the
heat energy to a working fluid
• The transport storage system passes the fluid from the receiver to
the power conversion system or in some cases, it may be stored in
solid, liquid or phase change materials for later use.
• The heat can be used to operate a conventional power system
such as a steam turbine (Rankine cycle) or and Stirling engine.

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 Solar Thermal Power… (Cont’d)
• The different systems that have been developed are:
a) Concentrating solar power technologies
• Parabolic trough
• Solar Tower
• Solar-Stirling engine
b) Solar chimney
c) Salt gradient solar pond

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 Parabolic trough
• The parabolic trough concentrator is a parabolic trough lined with
reflective material.
• The trough collectors constantly track the sun from east to west by
rotation on one axis.
• The trough collector concentrates the solar radiation onto an
absorber pipe located along its focal line.
• A transfer medium, typically oil, at temperatures of upto 400 º C is
circulated through the pipes.
• The heated fluid is pumped to a central power block, exchanging
heat to generate steam.
• The steam drives a steam turbine of a conventional power block.
• A number of trough collectors can be integrated to deliver the
desired quantity of steam.

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 Parabolic trough… (Cont’d)
• Technology commercialised in 1980’s.
• 9 Solar Electricity Generation (SEG) plants built at Kramer junction,
California.
• These plants operate on solar energy (75%) and natural gas (25%)
back up fuel.
• Cost of generation has come down from $0.24 / kWh in 1984 to
$0.08 / kWh in 1989 through various technological innovations.
• Efficiency of conversion is close to 20% with a peak of 21.5%.

• Recently, Direct Solar Steam Dish has been developed, which

generates steam at the dish itself.

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 Parabolic trough… (Cont’d)
• EUROTrough II collector prototype installed in Spain in 2002.
• A European consortium of a number of companies are developing
the next generation of parabolic trough collectors.
- INABENSA, Iberdrola and CIEMAT (Spain)
- SBP, FLABEG, FICHTNER and DLR (Germany)
- CRES (Greece)
- SOLEL (Israel)
• The EUROTrough II collector has advance features to minimise O
& M and can be used with various heat transfer fluids.

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 Parabolic trough… (Cont’d)
• The THESUS project being developed on the island of Crete is the
first commercial European venture.
• Capacity : 52 MWe
• Area : 300,000 m2
• Status: Detailed Design completed.

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 Parabolic trough… (Cont’d)
• The Integrated Solar Combined Cycle system (ISCCS)
• This system integrates the solar plant with a conventional CCPP.
• Advantages:
- Reduces effective cost of conventional CCPP
- Reduces CO2 emissions
- Reduces fuel consumption
- Effectively improves the solar to electricity conversion
efficiency.

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 Solar Tower
• A Solar tower utilizes many large, sun-tracking mirrors (heliostats)
to focus sunlight on a receiver at the top of a tower.
• A heat transfer fluid heated in the receiver is used to generate
steam, which, in turn, is used in a conventional turbine-generator to
produce electricity.
• Early power towers (such as the Solar One plant) utilized steam as
the heat transfer fluid.
• Current designs (including Solar Two, pictured) utilize molten
nitrate salt because of its superior heat transfer and energy storage
capabilities.
• Air at higher pressures can also be used as a heat transfer
medium.

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 Solar Tower

10 MWe Solar Two power tower with molten salt

receiver and storage at Bairstow, California

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 Solar Tower… (Cont’d)
• Solar Two successfully demonstrated efficient collection of solar
energy and dispatch of electricity, including the ability to routinely
produce electricity during cloudy weather and at night. In one
demonstration, it delivered power to the grid 24 hours per day for
nearly 7 straight days before cloudy weather interrupted operation.

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 Solar Tower… (Cont’d)
• Another development based on Brayton cycle .
• A field of sun tracking heliostats and tower mounted secondary
mirrors concentrate solar radiation onto a solar receiver situated at
ground level.
• The receiver contains pressurised air (from the compressor of the
GT).
• This air is preheated to the required temperature.
• When solar radiation is insufficient, it is supplemented by liquid or
gaseous fuel.

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 The Solar Chimney
• In 1987, a novel technology was developed by German engineers
headed by Prof. Jorg Schlaich of the technical university at
Stuttgart, Germany.

• The solar chimney makes use of the green house effect to harness
solar energy.

• Solar radiation is used to heat air in a glass house.

• On top of the glass house sits a chimney rising many meters above
a large collector glass roof. A wind turbine is housed at the base of
the chimney

• The difference between the air temperature under the glass house
and the ambient air causes the air to rise up the chimney.

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 Solar Chimney…(Cont’d)
• The soil under the collector roof acts as a natural energy storage,
slowly releasing the heat, absorbed in the forenoon, in the later
hours of the day and into the night.
• The capacity of the plant depends on
- Height of the chimney – Taller the chimney more is the
generation.
- Area of the green house. An increase in area will obviously
reduce the height of the chimney.

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Solar Chimney…(Cont’d)

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 Solar Chimney…(Cont’d)
• A pilot plant was established at Manzanares, Spain and has a
chimney 200 m high. The roof’s mean radius is 119 m. The 10 m
rotor of the wind turbine runs at 100 rpm generating 43 kWe.

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 Solar Chimney…(Cont’d)
• In 1996, the Rajasthan government issued a Letter of Intent (LOI)
to the global energy consortium M/s. Energen International to set
up a solar energy plant.
• The proposed solar farm would have a capacity to generate 200
MW power over a 5 yr period and is said to be the first of its kind in
the world.
• This technology is to be based on the solar chimney concept.
• As per the agreement, 1.79 MW power would be generated in the
first year, 35 MW in 1997, 70 MW in 1998, 126 MW in 1999 and
200 MW in 2000.
• The unit rate was fixed at Rs 3.81/-. …(Source:”The Hindu dated
6/11/96)

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 Solar Chimney…(Cont’d)
• However, as is the trend in India, the headlines are more on
politics, accidents, filmstars and sadly, not on development or
technology.
• The fact remains that this project has not taken off due to various
reasons. Had it been implemented, it would have catapulted India
into a frontrunner in the field of solar energy.

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 Solar Chimney…(Cont’d)
• In 2003, another project was slated for take off in Australia for a
similar 200 MW solar chimney project.
• This involves the erection of the world's tallest construction, 1km
high, at an out-of-the-way country location at Neds Corner, near the
Murray River in north-western Victoria.
• The lightweight concrete tower will be the diameter of the
Melbourne Cricket Ground’s playing surface at its base, and will
reach a kilometre towards the sky. A vast, gently sloping
greenhouse will extend from its base to a radius of 2.5km,
funnelling a rising column of hot air through 32 wind turbines about
40m above ground, generating power day and night.

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 Solar Chimney…(Cont’d)
• The latest update on this project is that the project has been scaled
down to a modest 50 MWe as early findings have reported that a
substantial increase can be obtained from the enhanced
performance of greenhouse with further market benefits expected
from the introduction of heat storage capability.

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Solar Chimney…(Cont’d)

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The Solar Chimney

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 Solar-Stirling engine
• The stirling dish systems are small power generation sets which
generate electricity by using direct solar radiation. The capacity of
a single unit is typically between 5 and 25 kW. They are ideal for
stand alone or distributed generation applications.

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 Solar-Stirling engine…(Cont’d)
• This system consists of the following components:
- Parabolic solar concentrator
- Tracking system
- Solar heat exchanger (receiver)
- Stirling engine with generator

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Solar-Stirling engine…(Cont’d)

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 Solar-Stirling engine…(Cont’d)
• The solar concentrator consists of a number of segments made
of glass fibre resin, mounted accurately to form a nearly parabolic
shell.
• The rim of the shell is stiffened to form a ring truss to which later
on bearings and the Stirling support structure are attached.
• Thin glass mirrors, 0.8 mm thick are glued to the front side of the
segments in order to obtain a durable high reflectivity of around
94%.

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Solar-Stirling engine…(Cont’d)

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 Solar-Stirling engine…(Cont’d)
• Tracking system - Since the concentrator always needs to be
perfectly oriented towards the sun, it is mounted on a two axis
tracking system.
• A simple movable steel construction standing on six wheels has
been developed. Both the horizontal and vertical orientation of the
concentrator are done by a small servomotor.
• The orientation towards the sun is either determined by a sun
tracking sensor, or by a special computer program which predicts
the position of the sun.

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 Solar-Stirling engine…(Cont’d)
• The stirling engine was invented by the Scottish Rev. Robert
Stirling way back in 1826.
• The Stirling engine depends only on external heat supply.
• A constant amount of working gas (helium or hydrogen) is
constantly heated or cooled. Due to expansion, when heated and
contraction when cooled, the working gas sets two pistons in
motion.
- The pistons are connected to a crankshaft and convert the
reciprocating motion into rotary motion.
- The efficiency of the Stirling engine increases with increasing
upper process temperature.
- As there is no internal combustion, this engine produces almost
no noise.

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 Solar-Stirling engine…(Cont’d)
• In the most simple version, a Stirling engine consists of a sealed
system with two cylinders (expansion and compression cylinder)
filled with a working gas (e.g. helium).
• Stroke 1-2: Expansion stroke. Gas gets heated on receiving solar
radiation, it expands due to increasing temperature and pushes the
piston down
• Stroke 2-3: Part of this power is now used to push the hot working
gas into the compression cylinder
- Gas passes through a regenerator (heat storage) and then
passes through a water cooled gas cooler, where it will be
further cooled down.
• Stroke 3-4: In the compression cylinder, the piston will return due to
inertia of the crankshaft and the gas is compressed at a low
temperature.
• Stroke 4-1: Gas is pushed back into the working cylinder after
reabsorbing the heat stored in the regenerator,

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Solar-Stirling engine…(Cont’d)

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Solar-Stirling engine…(Cont’d)

V160/161 Stirling engine developed by

Schlaich Bergermann / SOLO

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 Solar-Stirling engine…(Cont’d)
• The receiver is the link between the solar concentrator and the
Stirling engine. It has essentially two functions:
- To absorb as much of the solar radiation reflected onto it from
the concentrator as possible
- To pass on this absorbed energy to the Stirling engine in form
of heat with the least possible losses.
• There are two types of receivers. One is a solar-only receiver,
which can be operated only during sunshine and the other is a
hybrid receiver, which is additionally equipped with a gas burner
and can be operated the whole day.

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Solar-Stirling engine…(Cont’d)

Solar only Receiver

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 Solar-Stirling engine…(Cont’d)
• Companies involved in development of Solar Stirling technology:
- Advanco, McDonnel Douglas Corporation, Cummins Engine
Company in USA
- Schlaich Bergermann und Partner, Steinmuller (Collector
system) and SOLO Kleinmotoren (Stirling engine) in Germany.

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 Solar-Stirling engine…(Cont’d)
• Recently, Stirling Energy Systems Inc. in Phoenix, won a major
commitment for building the biggest solar installation in the world –
a 500 MWe solar – stirling engine from Southern California Edison
Inc. (EIX ) (SCE):
• For 20 years the utility will buy all the electricity that Stirling Energy
can generate at a 500-megawatt solar energy farm that Stirling will
build in the Mojave Desert near Victorville, Calif.
• No of dishes for 1 MW = 40
• Diameter of each dish = 37 feet (11.3 m)
• Efficiency of conversion in case of solar dish = 30%
• Area required for 2050 MWe = 11 sq miles
• Area required to meet entire requirement of USA = 100 sq miles

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 Solar-Stirling engine…(Cont’d)
• Reference in India
• 10 kW Dish/Stirling dish
by Schlaich Bergermann, Germany
• Power :10 kWe

• Location: VIT, Vellore

• Completed 2002

• Technical details

• Concentrator diameter : 8.5 m

Reflecting area : 57 m²
Stirling engine : SOLO 161
Type 2 cylinder 90°V, single acting
Working gas : Helium

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 Techno-economic aspects
• Solar Thermal power plants (STP) has the potential.
• Solar fuel is free, however, solar field represents 45-50% of total
investment.
• STP is expensive today as fossil fuels are still cheap.
• STP plants are faced with lower capacity factor. STP is available
for only about 2000 – 2500 h in contrast with 4000-7000 h / year for
fossil fuel plants.
• It is imperative that hybrid STP plants are planned for.
• Hybrid STP plants will result in lower solar contribution but with
much more competitive electricity costs.
• Careful planning and proper adaptation of technology to suit Indian
conditions has to be ensured.
• STP plants are better used for distributed generation especially in
villages.

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 Future Trends
• While still young, the solar industry, comprised of both photovoltaic
and solar thermal technologies, is experiencing phenomenal
growth and technological innovation.
• Worldwide, the industry has 1,800 MW of generating capacity
installed as of the end of 1999. Furthermore, the industry has
grown between 25% and 41% annually for the past 20 years.
• These growth rates have been achieved and sustained through
improvements in reliability, technology manufacturing, and
materials. These improvements have reduced the cost of the solar
electricity by 80% over the past 20 years.
• Many believe that the cost reductions will continue well into the
new century as the industry grows and realizes the benefits of
mass production.

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 Future Trends
• There is an urgent need to continue to develop technology for
commercial harnessing of power
• Bold steps are to be taken to initiate new projects notwithstanding
of the risks involved.
• World governments should offer subsidies until the number of
projects reach commercial scales.
• The world over, companies are trying to invest in “clean energy”
projects in developing nations to gain carbon credits and meet the
emissions as per Kyoto protocol.
• India SHOULD take advantage of this and get investments in solar
power generation.

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 References
• Schlaich Bergermann und Partner
Structural Consulting Engineers
Hohenzollernstraβe 1
D70178 Stuttgart
Germany
• Enviromission Limited
CAN 094 963 238
3, Raglan Street
South Melbourne
Victoria 3205
E-mail: communication@enviromissions.com.au
• Stirling Energy Systems, USA
• The Hindu dated 6/11/1996

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THANK YOU

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