First European Solar Power Tower
First European Solar Power Tower
Europe's first commercial concentrated solar tower power plant opens in Spain
solar | news
At the end of March 2007, Europe's first commercial
concentrated solar power plant
was inaugurated in Seville, South West Spain. A total of 624 large (120 square metre) moveable mirrors called
heliostats track and focus the sun's rays to a single
solar receiver at the top of a 115 metre tall
tower.
At temperatures of up to 250 degrees Celcius the solar receiver turns water into steam which turns a
steam turbine generator also located in the tower producing electricity.
The new plant,
PS10 (
Planta Solar 10), is the first commercial solar thermoelectric power plant in the world and has a peak capacity of 11MW - sufficient to generate 23 million kWh of electricity per year powering 6,000 homes and saving 18,000 tonnes of
carbon emissions per year. The plant took four years to build with construction finishing at the end of 2005 and has so far cost 35 million Euro. Construction was led by
Solucar, an
Albengoa company.
A second
power tower,
PS20 is being constructed which will produce around a peak of around 20MW of electricity. Construction began in October 2006.
PS10 is the first of a series of
concentrated solar power plants which will total 300 MW of peak capacity by 2013 - enough to power almost 200,000 homes. The total cost of the project is in excess of 1.2 billion Euro.
NEW - Click here to watch a BBC video of a
Tour of the Solar Tower.
Nevada Solar One
Nevada Solar One, a
64MW concentrated solar power plant is about to go live in the Mojave Desert, Nevada, USA. This power plant works in a different way though with parabolic mirrors focussing the sun's rays onto their own
solar receivers instead of the sunlight from all of the mirrors being focussed on central receiver.
Article Last Modified: 19:19, 4th May 2007
Recommended Related Articles
People who read this article also enjoyed the following articles:
Nevada Solar OneInformation about Nevada Solar One concentrated solar power plant
Article Last Modified: 11:56, 8th Jan 2007solarBuild a Concentrated Solar Water HeaterPlans for building a cheap advanced solar water heating system
Article Last Modified: 10:14, 12th Apr 2007heating | solar | waterShed and Garage Solar LightingLight your shed or garage with solar powered lighting
Article Last Modified: 15:16, 19th Aug 2008lighting | solarConcentrated Solar PowerFind out about CSP - an alternative to PV solar panels and oil
Article Last Modified: 11:47, 8th Jan 2007solarStirling Engine Solar PowerGenerate electricity from a solar powered Stirling Engine
Article Last Modified: 13:39, 17th Apr 2006solarSimple Solar Water HeatingMake a simple solar water heater with easy to find materials
Article Last Modified: 13:17, 30th Jun 2008heating | solar | waterSolar Power for Europe from SaharaRead about plans to power EU entirely from solar electricity generated in Sahara Desert
Article Last Modified: 09:43, 23rd Jul 2008solar | newsDIY Solar Water Heating PrototypeFollow the construction of a successful DIY solar water heating prototype
Article Last Modified: 15:16, 19th Aug 2008solar | heating | waterPermanent Magnet GeneratorBuild a wind or water power system with around a PM Generator
Article Last Modified: 11:44, 21st Jul 2008wind | hydroMake a Simple Solar Air HeaterHeat a room or outhouse with a solar heater made from recycled aluminium cans
Article Last Modified: 14:55, 1st May 2007solar | heating
|
|
£39.99 
