By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Wed, 2010-05-19 05:30
Side effects turned into advantages
History is full of stories of men feverishly searching for the magic trick that will solve all of our energy problems. Those quests have generally been whistled back by the laws of physics. These laws are what they are and we have to cope with them; our energy future will not be built by revolutionary solutions plucked out of the blue.
Perhaps the most intelligent solutions are not those that try to breech the limits of nature, but those that make maximal use of what nature has on offer. These are the stories of side effects turned into advantages, resulting in efficient combined techniques.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Wed, 2010-04-28 10:09
5th and last lesson of this course on CSP technology.
In this session there will be a complete review of technologies and techniques to assess the solar resource of a site and its suitability for a CSP project.
- Understanding the solar resource for csp plants
- Solar radiation measurement and estimation
- Solar radiation databases
- Statistical characterisation of the solar resource. Typical meteorological years
- Solar resource assessment for csp plants
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Tue, 2010-04-20 10:13
Dispatchability, thermal energy storage and hybridisation
Thermal storage for CSP plants:
- concept
- functions of the thermal energy storage system (tes)
- classification of tes systems
- state of the art
- future developments
Hybridisation of CSP plants:
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Tue, 2010-04-20 05:30
Transgreen is one step forward, but not the entire trip
At the end of March, the French press scored a remarkable scoop: the Transgreen project will be officially launched at the coming summit of the 'Union pour la Méditerranée' (UPM) scheduled for 25th May in Cairo. Other European newspapers from several countries subsequently reported the story, eliciting a heated debate. By looking at a few numbers, however, the project can be seen in a more modest perspective. Huge as it may seem, it is only a small step in the creation of a sustainable energy system for Europe. There is plenty of room left for other initiatives, such as Desertec.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Wed, 2010-04-07 09:33
Parabolic dishes
- general description
- main elements: parabolic concentrator, structure and tracking system, receiver, stirling engine and generator
- state of the art: types of dish-stirling systems; operational aspects; performance and economy
- future developments
Central receiver systems
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Tue, 2010-03-09 11:14
In this session the main elements of the parabolic trough technology will be described: concentrators, receivers, heat transfer fluids, connecting elements, etc.
Then, the main characteristics of today’s parabolic trough solar thermal power plants will be presented: design, operation and costs.
Finally, the audience will get some ideas for future developments.
This is the 2nd lesson of the general training on CSP technology.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Thu, 2010-03-04 18:21
Now in its fourth year, the Spanish Solar Industry conference will take place on 7-8 October 2010 in Madrid. This annual event will, among other topics, cover legislative developments, national and international market trends, look at how close Spain is to grid parity and bring in finance experts to show how to reduce costs for PV installations.
Solarpraxis invites all companies, associations, institutes, public-sector bodies and professionals to submit contributions related to the broad field of solar energy.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Thu, 2010-02-18 15:55
Lesson 1 : Fundamentals of concentrating solar thermal power
In this session, the contents will focus on the physical and thermodynamic basis of Concentrated Solar Power:
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2010-01-07 06:30
'Searching for a miracle'
Last September, an interesting new analysis was published by two California-based think tanks: Searching for a miracle / "Net Energy" limits & the fate of industrial society. The report, written by Richard Heinberg, is a joint initiative by the International Forum on Globalization and the Post Carbon Institute.
As with the book Sustainable energy / Without the hot air by David Mc Kay (on which we reported earlier on this blog), the report by Heinberg has as its principal merit a comprehensive analysis of the energy problem. With global warming becoming an increasingly important topic and the all-time peak of global oil production most probably behind us (July 2008, 87.9 million barrels per day), we can no longer hide behind local solutions. The world’s energy use will need a radical change in the upcoming decades.
But contrary to David Mc Kay’s book, Heinberg’s study also takes the cost, the reliability, and the potential transition speed of possible energy resources into account, as well as their physical and technical potential. However, Heinberg looks at the energy solutions separately and does not propose scenarios in which demand and production figures are added up and matched, as Mc Kay did.
It is worth noting that both experts put emphasis on the need for energy conservation and on the advantages of electricity as an energy carrier. Another common viewpoint of both experts is that they see only a very limited potential for biomass, ethanol, and biodiesel. Both also view wind energy and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) as very powerful options for the future.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Fri, 2009-11-27 15:06
This webinar will provide a general view of drivers and barriers for CSP development, with a particular focus on the structure of the CSP Value Chain. From a technical point of view, the main key performances will be reviewed for the different technologies.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Mon, 2009-06-29 12:29
ESTELA SOLAR is a European Industry Association created to support the emerging European solar thermal electricity industry for the generation of green power in Europe and abroad, mainly in the Mediterranean region.
ESTELA SOLAR involves and is open to all main actors in Europe : promoters, developers, manufacturers, utilities, engineering companies, research institutions.
Objectives:
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Mon, 2009-06-29 11:48
Protermosolar is the Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Industry Association in Spain, created in June 2004. It groups more than 50 associates.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2009-06-18 05:30
Incremental changes can result in substantial cost reductions
The technologies for producing electricity from solar thermal energy can be divided into three main categories:
- Parabolic trough and Fresnel systems
- Central receiver systems, including the solar updraft tower
- Parabolic dish systems, usually combined with a Stirling heat engine
The first commercial CSP plant, which was built in California in the 1980s, used the parabolic trough concept. It has a total capacity of 354 MW. For many years, this was the only large scale CSP plant in the world. Elsewhere, only small demonstration plants were built, as the high investment cost hampered further deployment.
In 2006, a new commercial 1 MW parabolic trough CSP plant was built in Tucson, Arizona. Since then, the development of CSP as a commercial electricity generating technology has taken off. Many CSP projects are currently being built, the majority of which are in Spain and the USA. It is very likely that because of this market boom, investment costs for CSP will go down. The question is how much and how quickly.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Thu, 2009-06-11 11:08
Our partner REEGLE has highlighted an interesting story. REEGLE is a one-stop shop and search engine for all renewable energy and energy efficiency-related information including jurisdiction and laws, policies and measures, finance and investment opportunities, reports and analyses and latest news.
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By HDK / Published on Fri, 2009-05-29 08:41
Date & Venue: June 16, 2009 - Arnhem
A new annual congress has been established with the intention of exchanging knowledge on low carbon electricity systems. The congress invites the participation of professionals interested in developing their vision of low carbon electricity, including policy makers, utility planning managers, consultants, energy industry representatives, research journalists and academics. Participants can expect a realistic, market-oriented approach with academic validation.
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