June 29, 2007—The Spanish company Solúcar Energía, SA is developing two solar thermal power plants near Seville, Spain, that employ a different kind of solar thermal power technology, called a power tower, according to the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
The facilities will consist of a large field of heliostats—flat mirrors on sun-tracking mounts—that focus the sun’s heat onto a receiver mounted on a central tower. A heat transfer fluid is pumped through the receiver and used to generate power, just as in a parabolic trough plant, used several places in the US.
The first power plant, PS10, is 11.02 megawatts in capacity and is essentially complete, with startup scheduled for later this year, says EERE. Site preparation for the second plant, the 20-megawatt PS20, began last October. The PS10 plant will be the first commercial solar power tower facility in the world.
For more information visit the Solúcar Energía, SA Web site.
