280-MW Solar Plant to Use Molten Salt for Energy Storage

 

Abengoa Solar has announced plans to build a 1900-acre concentrated solar trough plant that will store the heat in molten salt towers for round-the-clock power generation capability.

 

On February 21, 2008, Abengoa Solar announced plans to build the Solana Generating Station in Gila Bend, Arizona. The plant will be operational in 2011.
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Abengoa Solar, a subsidiary of a multi-billion-dollar international technology company, has signed a contract with Arizona Public Service Co. (APS), one of Arizona’s leading energy utilities, to build, own and operate what would be the largest solar power plant in the world if operating today.  However, by the time it comes on line in 2011, there will probably be other plants that are larger, including one in neighboring Nevada. (Ref, ref)

Abengoa's plant in Arizona will cover a surface of around 1,900 acres -- nearly three square miles -- and will run two 140-megawatt steam generators for a total capacity of 280 MW.

Concentrated Solar

The solar plant has been named Solana, meaning “a sunny place” in Spanish.

The Solana generating station will use Abengoa Solar's concentrating solar power (CSP) trough technology, which entails long rows of mirrors which track the sun from east to west in order to best focus sunlight onto the receiver pipes. The receiver pipes are filled with fluid that is heated by the sun's energy, much like a huge magnifying glass, to over 700 degrees. The heated fluid is then sent to a heat exchanger where steam is created, and that steam is then used to turn a turbine.

Storage via Molten Salt

The solar plant will also include a thermal energy storage system that allows for electricity to be produced as required, even after the sun has set. Large insulated tanks filled with molten salt can be used with concentrating solar power (CSP) to store the heat from the fluid. This stored heat can then be used to produce energy during periods of low or no sun, including the evening hours.

Plant Particulars

The Solana Generating Station will have a total capacity of 280 megawatts, enough to power 70,000 homes while avoiding over 400,000 tons of greenhouse gases that would otherwise contribute to global warming and climate change. The plant will employ a proprietary Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) trough technology developed by Abengoa Solar.

The plant, scheduled to go into operation by 2011, is located 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, near Gila Bend, Arizona. It will sell the electricity produced to APS over the next 30 years for a total revenue of around $4 billion, bringing over $1 billion in economic benefits to the state of Arizona.  The construction of the Solana Generating Station will create about 1,500 construction jobs and employ 85 skilled full-time workers once completed.

Company Vision

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano praised the joint efforts of Abengoa Solar and APS. “This is a major milestone for Arizona in our efforts to increase the amount of renewable energy available in the United States,” the Governor said.

"APS has signed this agreement with Abengoa Solar because of its experience developing and building large solar plants in Spain, Morocco and Algeria,” said APS President Don Brandt.

Santiago Seage, CEO of Abengoa Solar, said, "This project not only shows leadership in Arizona and the southwest, but for America. This project will help usher in a new era of large clean and efficient solar power plants. Our commitment to solar energy is global and we will work with utilities, regulators and companies worldwide to make plants like this happen by leveraging the technologies we have been developing over two decades.”

With this project, Abengoa Solar reinforces its presence in the United States, where it has been building and operating solar plants that supply industrial steam and heat. Abengoa Solar's objective is to build and operate large solar plants that will supply gigawatts of electric power across the Southwest in collaboration with the leading utility companies.

The construction of this solar plant and others under contract in the U.S. are subject to a long-term extension of the solar investment tax credit by the U.S. Congress.

About Abengoa Solar

Abengoa Solar develops and applies technologies to generate clean energy from the sun. 

Abengoa Solar has a team of 40 people in the United States and Spain dedicated to researching, developing and improving solar technologies. In December 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy selected Abengoa Solar for three research and developments projects to improve trough technology.

Abengoa Solar is currently operating the world’s first commercial CSP solar tower plant in Spain, a demonstration trough plant and the world´s first commercial photovoltaic low concentration plant. It is also building three more CSP plants in Spain with a total capacity of 120-megawatts, two trough plants that will generate 50-megawatts of electricity each, one tower plant with a capacity of 20-megawats and two hybrid gas-solar plants in Algeria and Morocco. A subsidiary of Abengoa, a $4 billion multinational company, Abengoa Solar has access to the financial, technical and human resources required to finance, build and operate these large plants.

Abengoa is a technological company that applies innovative solutions to sustainable development in the infrastructures, environment and energy sectors. It is a public listed company and it currently has a presence in more than 70 countries in which it operates with its five business groups: Solar, Bioenergy, Environmental Services, Information Technologies, and Industrial Construction and Engineering.

About APS

APS, Arizona’s largest and longest-serving electricity utility, serves about 1.1 million customers in 11 of the state’s 15 counties. With headquarters in Phoenix, APS is the largest subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp.

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