Supernova is based on the German company’s proven Nova-1 Fresnel- collector system, which allows for steam generation of up to 270 °C. It comprises banks of parallel rows of flat mirrors (primary reflectors), each bank reflecting and focussing solar radiation onto a focal line. Along this line a receiver is installed, which consists of a secondary reflector and absorber pipe. Water, flowing through the absorbers, is turned into steam, which is collected in a steam drum and dispatched to a steam turbine/generator.
The new Supernova design will enable steam to be heated to 450ºC, making it particularly suitable for use in solar thermal power plants in the earth's Sunbelt. In comparison with Nova-1, Supernova will increase the conversion efficiency of solar heat in electricity by 50%.
To cope with the higher temperatures, Novatec Biosol will utilise high temperature resistant receivers from Schott Solar. By using these receivers, which are already available from Schott Solar, the development time of Supernova will be significantly reduced. Supernova is scheduled to be launched towards the end of 2011 at Novatec’s solar thermal power plant PE1 in southern Spain.
Supernova will be developed in cooperation with Schott Solar and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). The operating temperature of Supernova will exceed the operating temperatures of parabolic trough plants. In connection with high prefabrication of components, the considerable material reduction and the low operation and maintenance costs which results from Novatec’s linear Fresnel generating technology, Supernova will result in a significant reduction of electricity production costs from solar thermal power plants.
In April, Novatec Biosol started construction of what it described as "the world’s first utility-scale solar thermal power plant based on Linear Fresnel technology" in Murcia (Spain). The 30MW Puerto Errado 2 plant represents a breakthrough in solar power, as a large-scale low-cost plant, and also as the largest direct steam generator. PE2 will use 300,000 square metres of flat mirrors to capture sufficient sun energy to run two 15MW GE turbines and once operational, it will generate enough power to supply approximately 20,000 households and displace electricity generation that would have otherwise produced some 49,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per annum.
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