Solana Generating Station
| Solana Generating Station Project | |
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| File:Abengoa Solar (7336111844).jpg
Assembly of the parabolic mirrors
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 Location of Solana Generating Station Project in Arizona
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| Country | United States |
| Location | Maricopa County |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | December 2010 |
| Commission date | 2013 |
| Owner(s) | Abengoa Yield[1] Liberty Interactive Corporation |
| Operator(s) | Arizona Solar One LLC |
| Solar field | |
| Type | CSP |
| CSP technology | Parabolic trough |
| Site area | 1,920 acres (780 ha) |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 2 |
| Make and model | Siemens[citation needed] |
| Nameplate capacity | 280 MW |
| Storage capacity | 6 hours |
| Annual generation | 944 |
The Solana Generating Station is a solar power plant near Gila Bend, Arizona, about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Phoenix, completed in 2013. When commissioned it was the largest parabolic trough plant in the world and the first U.S. solar plant with molten salt thermal energy storage.[2] Built by the Spanish company Abengoa Solar, it has a total capacity of 280 megawatts (MW) gross, from two 140 MW gross (125 MW net) steam turbine generators, which is enough to power 70,000 homes while avoiding around 475,000 tons of CO2 every year.[3] Its name is the Spanish term for "sunny spot".[4]
Contents
Technology
The plant employs a proprietary concentrating solar power (CSP) trough technology developed by Abengoa, and covers an area of 1,920 acres (780 ha). Construction was expected to create about 1,500 construction jobs with the plant employing 85 full-time workers.[5][6] Solar thermal plants use substantially more water for cooling than other solar generating technologies. Nevertheless, the Sierra Club supports the Solana plant, because it will be built on private land, and use "75 to 85 percent less water than the current agricultural use."[7]
Economics
Arizona Public Service (APS) has contracted to purchase 100% of the power output generated from Solana, to meet the Arizona Corporation Commission's (ACC) mandate that the state's regulated utilities provide 15% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025. APS will pay about 14 cents per kWh.[8] The Solana plant was originally planned to open in 2011 and was estimated to cost $2 billion.[9] In December 2010, Abengoa received a $1.45 billion loan guarantee to support construction of the plant.[10]
Energy storage
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One of the principal advantages of concentrated solar thermal (CST) is that thermal energy storage can be provided efficiently,[11] so that output can be provided after the sun goes down, and output can be scheduled to meet demand requirements.[12] The Solana Generating Station is designed to provide six hours of energy storage. This allows the plant to generate about 38 percent of its rated capacity over the course of a year.[13]
Production
Solana Generating Station's production is as follows.[14]
| Year | GW·h |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 89.25 |
| 2014 | 603.57 |
Projected full production is 944,000 MW·h (994 GW·h).[15]
See also
- Energy storage
- List of energy storage projects
- Solar power in Arizona
- SEGS, nine solar power plants in California's Mojave Desert.
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Mearian, Lucas. U.S. flips switch on massive solar power array that also stores electricity: The array is first large U.S. solar plant with a thermal energy storage system, October 10, 2013. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Solana" in wordreference.com
- ↑ Abengoa to Build 280MW Concentrating Solar Power Plant in Arizona, CleanEdge.com website, February 21, 2008.
- ↑ Lavelle, Marianne. Big Solar Project Planned for Arizona Desert: $1 billion installation would use parabolic mirrors to generate power southwest of Phoenix, U.S. News & World Report, February 21, 2008.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Wright, matthew; Hearps, Patrick; et al. Australian Sustainable Energy: Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan, Energy Research Institute, University of Melbourne, October 2010, p. 33. Retrieved from BeyondZeroEmissions.org website.
- ↑ Innovation in Concentrating Thermal Solar Power (CSP), RenewableEnergyFocus.com website.
- ↑ Solana: 10 Facts You Didn't Know About the Concentrated Solar Power Plant Near Gila Bend
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Further reading
- Wald, Matthew L. Arizona Utility Tries Storing Solar Energy for Use in the Dark, The New York Times, October 18, 2013, p. B1 (New York edition); also published online at NYTimes.com on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 18, 2013. Discusses BrightSource Energy, Electric Power Research Institute, Ivanpah Solar Power Facility project, and the Solana Generating Station project.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Solana Generating Station. |
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- Arizona Utility to Buy Power from a 280-Megawatt Solar Power Plant
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