May 16, 2007—A new solar thermal plant in Spain is reportedly the largest of its type in Europe and the first in the world to produce power for a national grid.
Featuring a specially designed steam turbine-generator supplied by GE Oil & Gas, Planta Solar (PS10), an 11-megawatt solar thermal power plant at Sanlúcar in Spain’s Seville province, was inaugurated March 30. Now producing power for Spain’s electricity grid, it is the first solar plant developed in Spain by the Abengoa Group of Seville.
Planta Solar 10 is based on solar tower technology: flat mirrors reflect the sun’s rays to the top of a tower for heating water and producing pressurized steam. The steam then is expanded through the turbine, which drives the generator to produce electricity for Spanish domestic consumption.
The GE steam turbine-generator was manufactured by GE’s French affiliate, Thermodyn. The design of the GE steam turbine for this project differs from the turbines Thermodyn typically builds for industrial applications such as incineration and biomass projects. The inlet steam conditions of this turbine more closely resemble those of turbines used by the French Navy for electricity generation or the propulsion of nuclear ships, submarines or aircraft carriers.
For more information, see the Web site for GE Oil & Gas.
