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Write a summary that discusses the Gemasolar power plant located in Fuentes de Andalucía in Seville province of Spain. Start with the words 'The text discusses the'.
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The text discusses the Gemasolar power plant located in Fuentes de Andalucía in Seville province of Spain. The plant uses a central receiver technology with molten heat storage system. The plant started working mid 2011. Technical feasibility of Central receiver technology was first proved during the 1980s by operation of six research power plants ranging from one to five MWe capacities and by one to ten MWe. A demonstration plant with a steam receiver was connected to the southern California grid.
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essay based on the summary above.
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##How It Works
Solar radiation first falls on mirrors known as heliostats. It is then reflected on to the receiver situated at the top of a supporting tower. Solar radiation is concentrated by the heliostats at 1000:1 ratio. This is controlled by a network of communication with 26 fiber optic rings present in it.
The orientation of the heliostats is automatically turned towards the sun by geared motors so that they reflect beam radiation on the receiver all day. A fluid flowing through the receiver absorbs the concentrated radiation and transports the heat to the ground level where it is used to operate a thermodynamic cycle.
“The receiver is capable of absorbing 95% of the radiation transmitted to the molten salts in the central receiver” (You tube: The World’s first Base load).
Cold salt is pumped up to the top of the tower at the central receiver where it is heated up. The liquid salt is brought back to the hot storage tanks being kept there at the temperature of 565°c. After leaving the storage tank, the heated salt is moved to the heat exchanger chamber via steam pipes and steam is formed as a result of condensation.
By means of this steam the turbines are turned; they generate electricity. According to Rirdan, any extra heat generated is kept in the molten storage tank and is used to produce electricity when the sun’s heat and radiation is absent.
Power generated is transferred to a substation located in Villanueva Del Rey, Andalucía, and further transmitted to the National grid system (102).
##Cost of the project
Estimated cost of project was €171 million. It was financed by several financial institutions including European Investment Bank, Banco popular and Banesto ICO. Engineering, procurement and construction were done by Sense Company. This was inclusive of the development of a molten salt receiver and the manufacturing of heliostats.
A company called SGS was tasked with provision of assistance in the civil works for example construction progress audit, power limit substantiation, commissioning and initial operation of the power plant. Outukumpu was charged with the task of constructing hot and cold storage tanks.
The Nord block gear motors were manufactured by Nord drive systems. Working together, Schneider electronics and Hirscham electronics were the companies that built the communication network. It took 29 months to construct the power plant.
##Energy output
Electric power is up to 19.9 MW. Net electric production expected per year is 110Ghw.The electricity generated of approximately 110 MWe per year is the highest electrical generation in the world for solar plants.
##Advantages of the Gemasolar Technology
These are the reasons why the Central receiver tower technology is preferred to other renewable energy production methods. It has a prolonged operating time without solar radiation. This means that it can work through the night or on cloudy days using energy from the stored heated salt.
##Energy output from this power plant is higher than that of other technologies in a facility with the same power. It has guaranteed electrical production for 6500 hours per year which is approximately two to three times higher than that of renewable energies. It is more scalable to any application both large and small thus it has significance to utilities.
It is more consistent energy supply with centralized and dispatch able generation model (Negewo 101). Its potential in MENA significantly exceeds any foreseeable regional demand even when quite onerous site conditions are required. It has significant potential for future development thereby reducing cost.
It works well with current large scale desalination technologies (Negewo 101).Other benefits of the central receiver power plant include: It provides clean and safe power to approximately 25,000 homes. There is less carbon dioxide emission by more than 30,000 tonnes a year (Enviromission Solar Tower 13).
In addition, the turbines do not have to be shut down quite often and hence the plant has a longer lifespan. The plants electrical generation can also be controlled to suit the demand for electricity.
Breaks or leakages are greatly reduced since there are no tubes or heat exchange fluids that spread out across the solar field and hence leads to low operational and maintenance costs (Rapier).
##Conclusion
Solar is improving its cost and performance by 20 % each year and is expected to continue to do so for the foreseeable future (Seba 17).Concentrating solar thermal electricity is rapidly expanding in Spain and globally. In the USA, a first generation solar power thermal station of 354 MWe has been operating for more than 20 years.
As of mid 2011 about, 1100MWe of CST was installed globally. In principle, given sufficient land, 24 hours storage is feasible and solar thermal power can be operated either as base load, intermediate load or peak load depending on amount of storage installed and electricity prices.