Abengoa Solar Inaugurates its Second-Generation Solar Tower

June 20, 2009 – Vol.14 No.13

Abengoa Solar Inaugurates its Second-Generation Solar Tower.

The company’s first high-temperature power tower, named Eureka, is intended to test, on an experimental basis, a new type of receiver that will achieve the higher temperatures needed for higher-efficiency thermodynamic power cycles. It is the only plant featuring these characteristics in operation in Andalusia, Spain and Europe. The aim of this new technology is to increase plant performance, thereby reducing both generating costs and the area of the solar field.

This experimental plant occupies a 16,000-square foot portion of the Solucar Platform and uses 35 heliostats and a 164-foot tower which houses the experimental superheating receiver. The power output capacity of the experimental plant is approximately 2MW. The plant includes a thermal energy storage system supplying power supply to the grid for short periods when there is no sunlight.

Abengoa Solar now has three solar power towers in operation, two for commercial use and this experimental tower.

The new plant is part of the Solucar Platform, a solar thermal and photovoltaic solar installation complex scheduled for completion in 2013. Thanks to its 300-megawatt power output, Solucar will supply clean electricity to 153,000 households and eliminate the emission of 185,000 tons of CO2 per year, reaching a total of four million tons over the course of its useful life. (6/19/09)

Links:

Abengoa Solar
http://www.abengoasolar.com

--- Abengoa Solar Awarded Two R&D Contracts by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Totaling $14.4 Million.

Disclaimer, Forward-Looking or Safe Harbor Statement on original press release: No