Europe's first commercial concentrating solar power plant was inaugurated last week in southern Spain. The plant, known as PS10, features no less than 11 MW of power made up of 624 large heliostats. This project is only the first of a series of plants that will total 300 MW in the next 6 years that could fully power the city of Seville.
The plant, developed by Solúcar (subsidiary of Abengoa) is located in Sanlúcar la Mayor, 25 kilometers west of Seville, took more than four years to build and has taken 4 years to build.
Each of the 624 mirrors has a an area of 120 square meters (1,290 square feet) and reflects the sunlight to the top of a 115 meter (377 foot) tower where it is concentrated onto a solar receiver. The temperature reached is so high that a steam turbine is able to drive a generator, producing thus electricity.
PS10 is only the first of a set of solar electric power generation plants to be constructed in the Sevilla area that will total more than 300 MW by 2013. The next plant, called Sevilla PV, will be Europe's largest low concentration PV plant.
When all the plants are completed, they will be able to power almost 200,000 homes, or an amount equivalent to the whole electricity consumption of the city of Seville. The project will require an investment of 1.2 billion euros, partly financed with European research funds.
"These new technologies give Europe a new option to combat climate change and increase energy security while strengthening the competitiveness of the European industrial sector and creating jobs and growth," said Mr Andris Piebalgs, the EU's Energy Commissioner.
Abengoa is now looking accross the Atlantic ocean for new businesses. The Spanish company has created Solucar Power, Inc., a new U.S. subsidiary focusing on solar market developments and handling utility demand for concentrating solar power technology.
This news is an impressive first step for a very promising technologies, as Seville might not be the only city powered by this technology in the coming years.
For additional information:
