| RSS Web Feed for Renewable Energy UK | REUK Shop | Directory | Bookmark Site | About Us  

Concentrated Solar Power



Concentrated Solar Power

Find out about CSP - an alternative to PV solar panels and oil

solar
Printer Friendly Version Print Article     

While virtually everyone has heard of PV solar panels, Concentrated Solar Power (or Concentrated Solar Thermal Power) is a technology which has remained out of the public domain. Though increasingly popular in the 1970's and 1980's - falling oil prices stopped most development of (and interest in) concentrated solar power until recently. Now in the USA, Spain, Israel and a few other locations new CSP plants are being built - for example Nevada Solar One a 64MW power station being built near to Las Vegas.

CSP is actually very simple to understand - essentially it works in the same way as a solar oven. Mirrors focus the sun's rays on a vessel containing a heat transfer fluid which is heated to hundreds of degrees celcius. This heat is then used to power steam turbines in the same way that the heat from burning gas, oil, or coal is currently used. As an added benefit, if salt water is heated to generated the steam which turns the turbines, then the byproduct is desalinated water - a valuable commodity in the hot desert environments best suited to this technology.

Pictured below is an example of such as system - using parabolic trough collectors. The sunlight incident on the mirrored parabolic trough is reflected onto a black coated concentrator tube containing the fluid to be heated. The whole thing is fitted to a tracking mechanism which tracks the sun as it moves across the sky maximising the amount of energy collected.

Parabolic Trough Collector

To generate the same amount of electricity that one barrel of oil can generate would currently cost around $50 factoring in the costs of building a CSP plant. With oil currently priced at around $60 per barrel this technology is already competitive (unlike PV Solar panels) and as the cost of manufacturing mirrors reduces and the cost of oil increases, the benefits of CSP will become even stronger. If just one half of one percent of the World's hot deserts were covered in mirrors we would be able to generate all of our electricity needs.

Map of potential concentrated solar power sites

Pictured above is a map showing (with yellow disks) an example of how concentrated solar power from North Africa and the Middle East could be joined with electricity generated from other alternative energy sources in Europe to supply a Europe-wide grid of green electricity.

The big oil producers such as Saudi Arabia are understandably not generally keen on alternatives to oil, but as they are typically desert filled countries blessed with masses of sunshine and very little water, CSP offers an alternative money stream when the oil dries up. High voltage DC (HVDC) electricity can be transported huge distances with only small losses of 3% per 1,000 kilometers. Electricity could therefore be transmitted directly to the UK from say Algeria with losses of just 10%. Obviously this would mean that existing AC transmitting infrastructure would have to be replaced at great initial cost - but current spending on nuclear power stations and on blue sky fusion reactor research dwarfs the costs of building a new HVDC transmitting grid.

Article Last Modified: 11:47, 8th Jan 2007


Recommended Related Articles

People who read this article also enjoyed the following articles:

DIY Solar Water Heating Prototype
Follow the construction of a successful DIY solar water heating prototype
Article Last Modified: 15:16, 19th Aug 2008
solar | heating | water

Simple Solar Water Heating
Make a simple solar water heater with easy to find materials
Article Last Modified: 13:17, 30th Jun 2008
heating | solar | water

How Do PV Solar Panels Work
Find out how photovoltaic solar cells generate electricity
Article Last Modified: 11:12, 4th Apr 2006
solar | education

Pumps for Solar Water Heating
Find a suitable water pump for a solar water heating system
Article Last Modified: 11:15, 20th Dec 2006
heating | solar

Build a Concentrated Solar Water Heater
Plans for building a cheap advanced solar water heating system
Article Last Modified: 10:14, 12th Apr 2007
heating | solar | water

Nevada Solar One
Information about Nevada Solar One concentrated solar power plant
Article Last Modified: 11:56, 8th Jan 2007
solar

Introduction to Solar Water Heating
Find out more about the benefits of solar water heating.
Article Last Modified: 12:00, 20th Dec 2006
heating | solar

Greenhouse Heatsink Connection Diagram
Putting together a solar powered greenhouse heatsink system
Article Last Modified: 13:18, 30th Jun 2008
solar | heating | general

First European Solar Power Tower
Europe's first commercial concentrated solar tower power plant opens in Spain
Article Last Modified: 19:19, 4th May 2007
solar | news

PVC Wind Turbine Blades
Learn how to make your own PVC wind turbine blades
Article Last Modified: 15:16, 19th Aug 2008
wind

© 2006-2008 REUK - All Rights Reserved
Page Last Updated on 11th October 2008 at 09:50:05am

Latest
Articles


solarDAB Solar Powered DAB Radio
Find out more about the world's first solar powered DAB radio
shopping
09:49, 11th Oct 2008

Convert Digital Mains Timer To Low Voltage
Convert a cheap digital mains timer into a low voltage programmable timer relay
electronics
16:21, 5th Oct 2008

Simple Well Pump Controller
Find out how to automatically get water from the well into a header tank
water
11:52, 1st Oct 2008

Solar Powered Poultry Lighting
Put together a solar system to power poultry lighting - increase winter egg production
solar
10:05, 27th Sep 2008

Solar Powered Security Spotlight
Protect your home with a solar-powered motion-detecting security spotlight
solar
14:22, 25th Sep 2008

Shed and Garage Solar Lighting
Light your shed or garage with solar powered lighting
lighting
14:03, 25th Sep 2008

Wind Up Eco Media Player
Find out more about the Eco Media Player - the world's first windup video player from Trevor Baylis
shopping
12:55, 25th Sep 2008

Solargorilla Laptop Charger
Find out about the Solargorilla - a rugged solar powered laptop charger
shopping
12:55, 25th Sep 2008



REUK Shop

Popular Items


12 VOLT 3 WATT SOLAR PANEL
Waterproof 12 Volt 3 Watt Solar Panel - 199 x 136mm with fitted leads (fiberglass and resin).
£19.99 each.
Solar Power



EFERGY HOMECO2METER
efergy homeCO2meter wireless electricity monitor
£38.99 each.
Energy Saving



6V 250MA SOLAR PANEL
Waterproof 6 Volt 250 milliamp (1.5 Watt) Solar Panel - 130 x 135mm with fitted leads (fiberglass and resin)
£13.99 each.
Solar Power



300 WATT POWER INVERTER
Convert 12V DC battery power into 230 AC to power portable televisions, computers, video recorders etc. 300 Watt power rating - peak power 600 Watts
£29.99 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



SOLAR PUMP CONTROLLER WITH RELAY
Solar water heating system microprocessor controlled circuit with fitted 10A relay
£25.99 each.
Complete Circuits



SUNSAVER 10A SOLAR CONTROLLER
10 Amp at 12 Volt solar charge controller - epoxy encapsulation, marine rated terminals
£35.99 each.
Solar Controllers