Solar Thermal Power Plants: Achievements and Lessons Learned Exemplified by the Ssps Project in Almeria/Spain

ISBN-13: 9783642522833 / Angielski / Miękka / 2012 / 129 str.

Federico G. Casal; Federico G. Casal; Carl-Jochen Winter

Opis

1. 1 Historical Background and Relationship to the lEA One of the objectives of the energy research, development and demonstra tion program of the International Energy Agency (lEA) is to promote the development and application of new and improved energy technologies which could potentially help cover our energy needs. Early in 1976, a working party for Small Solar Power Systems (SSPS) was created with the approval and encouragement of the Committee for Research and Develop ment of the International Energy Agency (lEA) 1]. At that time the following countries showed interest in attending the formative meeting: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Great Britain, Greece, The Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States of America. In its first meetings the SSPS Working Party explored the technological possibilities of the exploitation of solar power at small levels (photovoltaics, wind, waves and thermal power conversion) and also reviewed what was being done at that time in the domain of solar power in each of the participating countries. At a meeting in mid 1976 in Vienna, a study performed by MBB was presented. It stated that as distributed systems (systems using a large number of parabolic trough collectors "DCS," see chapter 4) grow linearly in terms of power, the associated costs grow as a function of the size of the intended system. By comparison, the cost per unit output of the central receiver systems ("CRS," see section 5."

Spis treści

1 Introduction.- 1.1 Historical Background and Relationship to the IEA.- 1.2 Project Implementation Within the IEA.- 1.3 Specific Objectives.- 2 Description of the SSPS Site.- 2.1 Criteria Leading to Its Choice.- 2.2 Characteristics of the Site.- 2.2.1 Insolation.- 2.2.2 Winds.- 2.2.3 Soiling Factors.- 2.3 PlantLayout.- 3 The Central Receiver System.- 3.1 General Description.- 3.2 Description of CRS Subsystems.- 3.2.1 Heliostat Field.- 3.2.2 Receivers.- 3.2.2.1 Cavity Receiver.- 3.2.2.2 Advanced Sodium Receiver.- 3.2.3 Sodium Heat Transfer System.- 3.2.3.1 Steam Generator.- 3.2.3.2 Sodium Pumps.- 3.2.3.3 Sodium Storage Tanks.- 3.2.3.4 Auxiliary Equipment.- 3.2.4 Power Conversion System.- 3.2.5 Data Acquisition System.- 3.2.6 CRS Process Efficiency.- 3.3 Measurements and Operational Experiences.- 3.3.1 Historical and Geographical Constraints.- 3.3.2 General Operational Experience.- 3.3.3 Performance of the Heliostats.- 3.3.4 Performance of the Receivers.- 3.3.4.1 Theoretical Studies and Simulations.- 3.3.4.2 Experimental Determination of Performance.- 3.3.4.3 Transient Behavior.- 3.3.4.4 Operational Experiences With Receivers.- 3.3.5 Steam Generator.- 3.3.6 Sodium Heat Transfer System.- 3.3.7 Power Conversion System.- 3.3.8 Yearly Production of Electricity.- 4 The Distributed Collector System.- 4.1 General Description.- 4.2 Description of Subsystems.- 4.2.1 ACUREX Single Axis Collectors.- 4.2.2 MAN Double Axis Collectors.- 4.2.3 Heat Transfer System.- 4.2.4 Power Conversion System.- 4.2.5 Data Acquisition System.- 4.2.6 DCS Process Efficiency.- 4.3 Measurements and Operational Experiences.- 4.3.1 Historical Development.- 4.3.2 General Operational Experience.- 4.3.3 Performance of the Collector Fields.- 4.3.3.1 Availability and Outages.- 4.3.3.2 Operational Behavior and Performance of Collectors.- 4.3.4 Performance of the Thermal Storage System.- 4.3.5 Power Conversion System.- 4.3.6 Simulations and Transient Behavior.- 4.3.7 Production of Electricity.- 5 General Aspects.- 5.1 Comparison Between CRS and DCS Power Plants.- 5.2 Economic Assessment.- 5.2.1 Introduction.- 5.2.2 Economic Analysis.- 5.3 Environmental Impact.- 6 Lessons and Guidelines for the Future.- 6.1 Site Selection Criteria.- 6.2 Determination of Solar Multiple.- 6.3 Solar Specific Components.- 6.4 Solar Application of Non Solar Components.- 6.5 Storage Subsystems Optimization.- 6.6 Thermal Inertia and Losses.- 6.7 Operating Strategies.- 6.8 Internal Consumption.- 6.9 Recommendations for Future Efforts.- 6.9.1 Suggestions for Improvements of the CRS.- 6.9.2 Possible Improvements of the DCS.- 6.9.3 The Author’s Opinion.- 6.9.4 Future Research and Development Efforts.- Glossaries (Written by J. Weingart).- Solar Thermal Energy Conversion.- Solar Radiation.- Financial Terms.- Notes and References to Glossaries.- References and Literature.- Executive Committee (EC) Members.