Could sun and glass solve our carbon free energy demand?
Located in the Nevada desert which is just a few hundred miles north of Las Vegas lays a renewable energy plant containing the most advanced solar energy technology currently in existence. The plant named Crescent Dunes quite possibly resembles a scene from a sci-fi movie which are frequently situated in a remote desert setting. The plant is constructed from a whopping ten thousand silver glass glass panel with each one spanning 115 m2! These panels are not your ordinary Photovoltaic PV solar panels as you may have installed on your roof at home but are instead expansive versatile mirrors which follow the sun very much like a heliotropic plant. So how do mirrors generate energy you might ask? Well the mirrors point the sunshine exactly towards the top of a central tower.
The central tower does what exactly?
The central tower secretes a central reserve containing a whopping 25,000 tonnes of potassium and sodium nitrate, it is then heated to a toasty 288 °C which forces the compound to turn into a transparent liquid. Following this the liquid is transported inside narrow tubes which rise significantly once exposed to the intense sunlight directed from the ground level glass panels towards the top of the tower which is believed to be around 560 °C! The material then flows back down the tower and is extracted and stored into an enormous tank. Since molten salt maintains it’s heat it can be comfortably stored until the energy is called for of which only then it is transformed into electricity amusingly via traditional steam turbine technology which was invented by Sir Charles Parsons back in 1884. In turn the storage attributes that the Concentrated Solar Power plant can provide means that it can effectively supply electricity to over 75,000 homes way after the sun has set. Of course the system can be scaled up to suit the required capacity and with space in abundance especially in remote locations in Africa the future looks appealing for this renewable energy storage technology.
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solar central tower[/caption]
What so special about CSP over PV or wind turbine generated energy?
The current dilemma with solar PV and wind generated electricity doesn’t lay in the technologies inadequate capability in generating electricity but with fundamentally storing renewable energy for use when generation is intermittent or unavailable. There are various companies vowing to win the race in a pragmatic energy storage system however none are yet to provide a practical solution. The Concentrated Solar Power plant bridges the gap between storing energy and is currently the most advanced energy storing system in existence, however there remains one major floor and that is that the operation is only viable whereby there is a consistent source of intense solar energy. While it may work gloriously in the Nevada desert could this be replicated in England just north of London…? Probably not. The advantage to such technology is of course there are no pollutants to the atmosphere and while the system may not be suited to our incalculable UK weather there are certainly copious amounts of locations where it would be advantageous including Africa, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and so forth.
Renewable electric technology is consistently being refined and researched as we look beyond the use of fossil fuels, electric cars are now a reality and not fiction the same is happening with our energy supply. The objective to beat climate change and switch to a carbon free planet is proving to be a challenge including various political obstacles, however money talks and once renewable technology begins to demonstrate just how much cheaper it is over carbon loaded energy then we will see a colossal jump to renewables virtually overnight. We aren’t too far away from the big switch either and if your home is already equipped with the latest eco electric radiators that consume a fraction of energy to heat distribution then you can look forward to a green low cost central heating system.
solar central tower[/caption]
What so special about CSP over PV or wind turbine generated energy?
The current dilemma with solar PV and wind generated electricity doesn’t lay in the technologies inadequate capability in generating electricity but with fundamentally storing renewable energy for use when generation is intermittent or unavailable. There are various companies vowing to win the race in a pragmatic energy storage system however none are yet to provide a practical solution. The Concentrated Solar Power plant bridges the gap between storing energy and is currently the most advanced energy storing system in existence, however there remains one major floor and that is that the operation is only viable whereby there is a consistent source of intense solar energy. While it may work gloriously in the Nevada desert could this be replicated in England just north of London…? Probably not. The advantage to such technology is of course there are no pollutants to the atmosphere and while the system may not be suited to our incalculable UK weather there are certainly copious amounts of locations where it would be advantageous including Africa, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and so forth.
Renewable electric technology is consistently being refined and researched as we look beyond the use of fossil fuels, electric cars are now a reality and not fiction the same is happening with our energy supply. The objective to beat climate change and switch to a carbon free planet is proving to be a challenge including various political obstacles, however money talks and once renewable technology begins to demonstrate just how much cheaper it is over carbon loaded energy then we will see a colossal jump to renewables virtually overnight. We aren’t too far away from the big switch either and if your home is already equipped with the latest eco electric radiators that consume a fraction of energy to heat distribution then you can look forward to a green low cost central heating system.