SCHOTT to Manufacture Solar Receivers in Spain Soon

[jpak]

http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/energie_elektrotechnik/bericht-73804.html

Only in August, the company inaugurated its first production line at the company’s manufacturing site in Mitterteich (Bavaria) by shifting from pilot production of small quantities of receivers to industrial serial manufacturing. By opening a second receiver plant in the Sevilla region, SCHOTT will effectively double its current production capacity by the beginning of 2008. The new plant will require a capital expenditure of approximately 22 million euros.

Receivers represent a key component of solar thermal parabolic trough power plants that are capable of converting solar energy into heat and then using this to generate electricity.

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Because they offer the highest level of efficiency and incur the lowest costs for generating power of all solar technologies, parabolic trough power plants will soon offer the potential to generate solar electricity inside the world’s Sunbelt at competitive prices. This technology has proven to be a reliable source of centralized power generation for 20 years. Nine solar thermal power plants located in the Mojave Desert in California, with a total capacity of 354 megawatts, have been supplying 200,000 households with electricity for just as long. Even then, SCHOTT delivered the high quality special glass tubing as envelopes for the receivers. In 2004, SCHOTT developed its own high-performance receiver that offers substantially improved quality.

Parabolic trough power plants consist of numerous trough-shaped parabolic mirrors that concentrate sunlight onto receivers (absorber tubes) that are located along the focal line. Inside these specially coated receivers, concentrated solar radiation is converted into heat which is transferred to a special heat resistant transfer fluid reaching temperatures of up to 400° Celsius (752 °F). This fluid is pumped to the central generating unit. It passes through several downstream heat exchangers and, as in conventional power plants, generates the steam that is required to drive the turbines that produce electricity.

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[phiddle]

1. Great idea--mgiht there be home application?

From your link: "Parabolic trough power plants offer enormous potential for meeting tomorrow’s power supply demands. Our receiver makes us the global technology leader. Now, our goal is to become the market leader, as well."
Damn, if we had kept on Jimmy Carter's path, WE would be doing this now, to the benefit of our technology, our citizenry and our balance of payments.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. "The technology has been stagnant since 1993..." *SIGH*

The first solar trough plants were constructed in California by Luz International. The first started up in 1984, the last in 1991. Altogether, nine such plants were built, SEGS I–VII at Kramer junction and VIII and IX at Harper Lake and Barstow respectively. In February 2005, all but two (I and II) of the Kramer Junction SEGS plants were acquired by FPL Energy and Carlyle/Riverstone. A natural gas system “hybridizes” the plants and contributes up to 25% of their output, a feature that allows operation later at night or on cloudy days to meet the requirements of the grid. FPL now runs these systems, making it the largest solar power generator in the United States. All of the power generated from the SEGS projects is sold to Southern California Edison under long-term contracts negotiated by Luz back in the 1980s.

from http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2005/09/about_parabolic.html

[XemaSab]

3. There are new solar thermal technologies coming online

There have been huge solar innovations since 1993.

[eppur_se_muova]

4. I know. It's the "coincidence" of dates that gets me ...

Basically, a number of promising projects were put on hold when the Petrocrats siezed the Oval Office.