(Concentrating Solar Power CSP)

Text Translation :

There are several ways to transform solar energy into electrical energy to power our daily appliances. The
photovoltaic system is the best known of them, but there are also other solar energy transformation systems
such as Concentration Solar Power (CSP), also called thermodynamic solar power plants, which transform the
sun's rays into energy by reflecting them on a given surface. The generation of electricity with CSP is presented as
a future source of renewable electricity.

How does a concentrated solar thermal power plant work?

The principle of concentration of the sun's rays consists in making them converge on a given point where the
heat will be stored. Concentrated solar thermal power plants are designed on the same principle; Reflecting
mirrors reflect the sun's rays to a system that contains a heat transfer fluid, usually synthetic oil, molten salt or
water, which will be heated to a very high temperature. This heat transfer fluid is then pumped to an
exchanger that uses it to produce steam. It is then a classic process, found in all thermal power plants, which is
the electricity production thanks to a turbine and an alternator. This type of power plant allows, by storing this
fluid in a reservoir, to extend the operation of the plant several hours beyond sunset.

The difference between solar thermal and solar photovoltaic lies in the way the sun'srays are used. In
addition, the reflective panels, use only the direct rays of the sun and not the diffuse rays, as is the case for
photovoltaic panels.

There are different types of concentrated solar power plants. In the following, we will discover four
technologies used to concentrate the sun's rays and recover the maximum energy.
The different types of concentrated solar power plants :

1. Parabolic trough power plants

Trough systems collect the sun's energy using

long rectangular, parabolic mirror collectors.
The trough field consists of a large array of
these modular collectors. Many parallel rows
of collectors span across the solar field, normally
aligned on a north south axis.
The mirrors mechanically rotate and follow the sun east to west, focusing sunlight on receiver
tubes that run the length of the mirrors. The receiver tubes are positioned along the focal line
of each parabolic mirror.

The reflected condensed sunlight is very intense and heats a fluid flowing through the tubes to
a very high temperature (about 550 degrees Celsius or 1020 degrees Fahrenheit). The very hot
fluid is then used to heat water to create steam for a conventional steam turbine generator to
produce electricity.

2. Fresnel mirror solar power plants

Rather than bending the mirrors (an expensive industrial process), Fresnel mirrors "mimic"
the parabolic cylinder shape with very slightly curved mirrors, and placed at the same
horizontal level. Only the mirrors move, the structure and the absorber tube are both
stationary. The costs of solar power plants with Fresnel mirrors are therefore lower than
those of plants with parabolic trough mirrors, both for installation and maintenance.

However, focusing is degraded in this system (since the parabola is not perfect): the bet is
that the lower cost "compensates" for the degradation of efficiency from an economic point
of view. This type of system is still relatively uncommon.
 3. Tower power plants

Hundreds of mirrors following the path of the sun (the "Heliostats") (Helios in greek means
the sun) reflect and concentrate the solar radiation on a central receiver located at the top
of a tower, in which the heat transfer fluid circulates. As in parabolic trough systems, the
heat from the fluid is then transferred to a conventional steam cycle to generate electricity.
Compared to a parabolic trough system, the solar tower offers the advantage of not having
to circulate fluid throughout the field of mirrors: thermal losses are therefore significantly
reduced. In addition, the level of concentration of the irradiation can be much higher and
the efficiency of the thermodynamic cycle is increased. It remains that these technical gains
must also be translated into a technical-economic gain, limited by the construction cost of
the tower.

4. Parabolic trough power plants

A dish-Stirling system uses a much different technology than other concentrating

technologies. It does not use water or steam except for a very small amount to wash the
concentrators. The system still falls into the thermal CSP class of products as it uses the heat
from the sun to drive a Stirling engine to generate electricity. The dish Stirling system is
composed of a parabolic concentrator, a solar light receiver shaped like a cavity, and a
Stirling Engine. The concentrator is a highly reflective mirror dish similar to a very large
satellite dish.
The very concentrated sunlight (800 times normal)
heats a working fluid in contact with the receiver to
a temperature of approximately 650ºC. The thermal
energy causes the cylinder piston engine to oscillate
back and forth at 50 or 60 cycles per second. The
piston moves a magnet back and forth inside a coil
of wire which generates an AC current. The engine
is air cooled by means of a radiator and a closed water based coolant system.
To maximize power output, the heliostat incorporates a computerized mechanical system to
track the sun daily, east to west, and seasonally, north and south, using a two axis system.