What are Solar Updraft Towers? The Solar Project. Coordinates: Solar Two Power Tower Project The Solar Project consists of the Solar One, Solar Two and Solar Tres solar thermal power plants based in the Mojave Desert, USA and Andalucía, Spain. Solar Two was demolished in 2009.[1] Solar One[edit] Solar One was a pilot solar-thermal project built in the Mojave Desert just east of Barstow, CA, USA. Solar One's method of collecting energy was based on concentrating the sun's energy onto a common focal point to produce heat to run a steam turbine generator. In the late 1970s, a competition was held by DoE to obtain the best heliostat design for the project.
The project produced 10 MW of electricity using 1,818 mirrors, each 40 m² (430 ft²) with a total area of 72,650 m² (782,000 ft²). WikiMiniAtlas During times of high winds, blowing dust is sometimes illuminated by the reflected sunbeams to create an unusual atmospheric phenomenon in the vicinity of the power tower. The solar power plant that works the night shift. Solar Updraft Tower. A solar updraft tower is a large-scale solar power plant (30-200 MW) for regions of the earth that are rich in sunlight.
Solar updraft towers generate electricity from solar radiation: the sun heats the air under a large translucent collector roof. Spain's Gemasolar Array. Torresol Energy has overcome one of solar energy’s biggest challenges: operating when the sun doesn’t shine.
The 19.9 MW Gemasolar concentrated solar power plant in Spain’s Andalucia province has two tanks of molten salt (MSES) that store heat energy generated throughout the day. Unlike normal plants that have less thermal storage or none at all, this stored energy enables Torresol to satisfy peak summer energy demand long after sunset. A joint venture between Spanish giant Sener and Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s Future Energy Company, the Gemasolar plant has hurdled one of alternative energy’s biggest obstacles. Check out a video of the operation after the jump! The MSES consists of 60% potassium nitrate and 40% sodium nitrate. Gemasolar is expected to produce approximately 110,000 MWh of energy each year – enough to power 25,000 homes.
. + Torresol Via Forbes. Torresol Energy - Gemasolar thermosolar plant. Gemasolar is the first commercial-scale plant in the world to apply central tower receiver and molten salt heat storage technology.
The relevance of this plant lies in its technological uniqueness, since it opens up the way for new thermosolar electrical generation technology. Characteristics of Gemasolar: Rated electrical power: 19.9 MWNet electrical production expected: 110 GWh/year Solar field: 2,650 heliostats on 185 hectaresHeat storage system: the molten salt storage tank permits independent electrical generation for up to 15 hours without any solar feed. The prolongation of the plant's operating time in the absence of solar radiation and the improvement in efficiency of the use of the heat from the sun makes Gemasolar's output much higher than that which is delivered by other technologies in a facility with the same power.
The notable increase in the plant's power efficiency guarantees electrical production for 6,500 hours a year, 1.5 to 3 times more than other renewable energies. Molten Salt Solar Plant. The Department of Energy just invested $737 million into the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project in Nevada, which will generate energy well into the night by using molten salt as an energy storage medium.
To do this the plant will focus nearly 20,000 heliostats upon a solar power tower filled with salt, heating the material to 1,050 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it has been heated the salt will retain its thermal energy for a long time, and it can be mixed with water to produce steam on demand, which can be used to drive turbines to produce electricity. Nevada’s new molten salt solar plant will be run by rocket scientists from Pratt and Whitney. Companies such as SolarReserve have championed the use of molten salt in solar thermal projects because unlike water, it retains heat for a very long time. In this case, it is hoped that the plant will continue to produce power for 12 hours after the sun has set.