Image: Solar Heat and Power
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This solar
thermal project is roughly 1/40 its anticipated final size. Image: Solar Heat and Power |
"The first phase of the solar trough project offers a nominal thermal capacity of 1.2 MW with a planned expansion to 40 MW."
Sydney, Australia - July 30, 2004 [SolarAccess.com]
Coal and solar, who says they can't get along? Macquarie Generation, the
operator of a coal-fired power station in the Hunter valley about 250 km
northwest of Sydney, Australia is tapping into a large array of solar thermal
collectors that will provide clean, renewably-generated steam and feed-water for
the power plant.
Developers of the project, Solar Heat and Power, based jointly in Australia and
Germany, believe this is the first time solar thermal power has been coupled
with a conventional power plant to assist in direct operations.
The first phase of the solar trough project offers a nominal thermal capacity of
1.2 MW with a planned expansion to 40 MW. Yep, 40 MW -- enormous in terms of
solar thermal capacity, but relatively small compared to the 2000 MW capacity of
the coal-fired power plant.
The technology employs what the developers call their Compact Linear Fresnel
Reflector (CLFR). In this first phase, the CLFR collector field covers an area
of approximately 60 x 30 meters consisting of several rows of flat mirrors that
concentrate the sun's radiation to fixed plane absorber installed about 10
meters above the field. In the absorber the sunlight heats water and produces
steam at temperatures of 285 ęC. This solar generated steam is replacing steam
turbine bleed steam otherwise used for the feed-water heating entering the
coal-fired boiler.
"The CLFR collector will produce electricity at cost cheaper than wind by
utilizing the existing power plant infrastructure" the Chairman of Solar
Heat and Power and long time president of the International Solar Energy Society
Dr. David Mills stated. "This is why Macquarie Generation opted for this
technology and awarded us with a staged contract to expand the solar field to an
output suitable to produce 40 MW of clean emission-free electricity."
The developers said that with this solar thermal process, less fossil fuel is
needed to generate the same amount of electricity, and in turn this reduces the
total CO2 emissions of the plant. By closing the bleed steam extractions at the
turbine more steam can travel trough the low pressure blading of the turbine so
that the plant operator is gaining valuable additional capacity especially at
times with highest load. The expansion stage to 40 MW will employ the same
technology for the same use.
Die-hard renewable energy fans will say it's still a dirty coal-fired power
plant, but the reality is that these conventional plants will continue to
operate around the globe for many years. The developers see their solar thermal
coupling as a way to cost-effectively clean up these power plants.
"Adding a CLFR solar field can be an excellent and cost effective option to
increase peak load possibility while reducing CO2 emissions. This could
especially be interesting for some finance-lacking North African utilities
operating matured plants in markets with strong growths of electricity demand
", the Managing Director of Solar Heat & Power Europe Rędiger Wolf
claims.
In the coming months the CLFR field will undergo further trials. Connection of
the extended CLFR solar field with about 15 MW (themal) to the power plant
water/steam cycle is planned by the end of 2004.
The market for solar thermal power is set to expand rapidly over the next decade
with various projects planned in Australia, India, Northern Africa, America and
Europe. The developers said Spain is offering especially attractive feed-in
tariffs for stand alone solar thermal power plants. Solar Heat & Power's
European division is preparing for this market by planning a European
manufacturing site and working on the authorization of a small show case,
stand-alone solar thermal power plant in Germany.
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