Torresol Starts First Solar-Thermal Tower to Generate at Night
Torresol Energy SA began operating the world’s first solar-thermal tower with heat storage, allowing it to sustain generating power through the night near Seville in southern Spain.
The 19.9-megawatt Gemasolar plant will produce power 24 hours a day during the sunnier parts of the year by stockpiling heat in molten salt to power turbines after sundown, the company said today in an e-mailed statement. Its 2,650 mirrors arrayed over 185 hectares (457 acres) can generate temperatures of up to 900 degrees centigrade (1,652 degrees Fahrenheit) in the receptor mounted on a central tower while its salt-based storage system will exceed 500 degrees, it added.
Torresol is a joint venture backed 60 percent by Las Arenas, Spain-based SENER Ingeneria y Sistemas SA and 40 percent by Masdar, the Abu Dhabi government’s clean energy company. The project was financed by a 171 million-euro ($241 million) loan from Banco Popular SA (POPULA), the European Investment Bank and Spain’s Official Credit Institute.
The Gemasolar plant, which will produce enough power for 25,000 homes, produces hotter steam than rival installations, making it more efficient, the company said.
Torresol plans to commission two more plants with 50 megawatts of capacity each in the southern region of Andalucia later this year. Those plants will use rows of parabolic mirrors to focus the sun’s energy on pipes of oil rather than a central tower.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sills in Madrid at bsills@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net
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