Lecture 7: Concentrated solar power plants

Dr. Fiaz Ahmad

Introduction
 Combustion of fossil fuel is the largest source of greenhouse gas
emissions

Population by major region CO2 emissions by region

International energy agency (IEA) 2009

 Introduction cont’d..

 Renewable energy technologies are clean sources of energy that have a

much lower environmental impact

Residential market penetration Additions to electricity generation World renewable electricity generation
capacity in the commercial sector, by source, 2005-2035 (billion
2010-2035 (gigawatts) kilowatthours)

U.S. Energy information administration (EIA) 2012

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)
Generating Electrical Power
• Photovoltaics • Concentrating Solar Power
 Small-scale (buildings) kW (CSP)
production
 Trough systems
 Large-scale (utilities) MW
 Power towers
production
• Heat exchanger plus steam
• Photoelectric effect
turbine
 Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)
 Concentrated solar power plant

 Collecting, focusing, transmitting, and

conversion of solar energy
Working of CSP tower
CSP Technologies
 CSP technology systems use reflective surfaces to gather and concentrate unscattered
solar radiation to create heat

 The requirement for unscattered (“direct normal”) radiation limits CSP plants to certain
locations, primarily desert regions with limited cloud cover

 Three of the four CSP technologies use the collected heat to power conventional Rankine
steam cycles, similar to those used for coal and nuclear plants
 parabolic trough, linear Fresnel, power tower

 Dish-engine systems use the concentrated sunlight to power a small heat engine at the
dish’s focal point
Four CSP technologies
Idea of Parabolic trough
Parabolic Trough

Kramer Junction, CA
Power Tower

Barstow, CA
Dish-Engine
Compact Linear Fresnel
Solar Power Plant Projects

Micro-scaled Concentrated Solar Power Plant

Parabolic troughs: 1000
Power: 2 MW
Location: Kona District, Hawaii, USA
 Solar Power Plant Projects cont’d..

Ivanpah solar thermal power system

Number of plants: 3
Size: Approx. 3,500 acres
Tower height: 450 foot
Heliostats: 173,000
The PALEN solar thermal power system Units: 2
Power Production: 370-392 MW
Size: 3800 acres
Location Ivanpah Dry Lake, California
Power production: 500 MW
Home served annually: 200,000
Expected construction date: 2013/2014
Location: California
Solar Power Plant Projects cont’d..

Parabolic troughs: 258,048 Concentration: 1000 times

Absorber Pipes: 27,648
Power: 100 MW
Location: Shams 1, Abu Dhabi
Solar Power Plant Projects cont’d..

Size: 100 acres

Power Production: 29 MW thermal
Electrical Output: Approx. 13 MWe (megawatts electric)
Tower Height: 327 feet
Number of Heliostats: 3,822
Location: Coalinga, California Completed: September 2011
Solar Islands

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=D1XyR3YOVZQ
Advantages
 resemble traditional power plants
 generation based on steam and is large scale
 use standard equipment for power generation
 can be built in small sizes and added to as needed
 can achieve high steam operating temperatures,
allowing more efficient power generation
 capable of combined heat and power generation
 steam for absorption chillers, industrial process heat, desalination
 Non-carbon emitting power generation
incorporates storage
 storage not major part of generation cost
 size of steam power plant that lacks storage does not have to be increased when storage added
 added storage cost effective if energy sold at peak hours
 allows generation to match utility load profile
 can be hybridized with intermittent renewables
Disadvantages
 high upfront capital costs for concentrators and storage

 require unscattered “direct normal” solar radiation, thus limiting where CSP plants can be
located
 desert areas are best (but also arid)

 require cooling, as with any steam power plant, creating a requirement for water or air
cooling
 water limitations may necessitate air cooling in many locations, with penalty in capital
cost, generating efficiency and energy cost.

 require large surface areas for placement of concentrators

Current Status
 Deployed CSP capacity has expanded from 354 MWe to more than 820 MWe
 many new projects are in the pipeline in many countries
 when those under construction are completed, capacity will approach 3,000 MWe
 an even greater number of projects are in development > 10,000MWe in the U.S. alone
 CSP plants deployed or under development in
 USA
 Spain
 Italy
 Morocco
 Algeria
 Egypt
 Jordan
 Tunisia
 India
 Conclusions
•CSP has the potential to supply a significant share of global electricity demand

•Ability to load follow, firm up intermittent generation, incorporate storage, and provide heat and
electricity are major advantages

•Cooling requirements present a water and cost challenge (as do requirements of other steam
power plants)
•costs still high but should come down significantly as more and more systems are manufactured
and deployed