CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Solar thermal power generation systems capture energy from solar radiation,
transform it into heat, and generate electricity from the heat using steam turbines, gas
turbines, Stirling engines, or pressure staged turbines (Figure 1.1):

Figure -1.1 Schematic illustration of the component parts of solar thermal power plants

The four main types of solar thermal power plants developed and tested so far are:

Parabolic trough and Fresnel trough technology

Central receiver system (also called power tower or solar tower)

Dish-Stirling system

Solar updraft tower plant

Parabolic and Fresnel trough, central receiver, and dish-engine systems

concentrate the sunlight to gain higher temperatures in the power cycle. The primary
resource for concentrating solar power (CSP) technology is the direct solar irradiance
perpendicular to a surface that is continuously tracking the sun (direct normal
irradiance, DNI). CSP systems have their highest potential in the "sun belt" of the
1

earth, which is between the 20th and 40th degree of latitude south and north.
Solar updraft towers do not concentrate the sunlight. They use the direct
fraction of the sunlight as well as the diffuse fraction. As a consequence, the working
temperature is much lower than those of concentrating systems, and thus the
efficiency.
The electricity is produced by different ways:
Troughs and central receivers usually use a steam turbine to convert the heat into electricity. As heat transfer fluids oil, molten salt, air, or water can be used. Central
receivers can achieve very high operating temperatures of more than 1,000 C
enabling them to produce hot air for gas turbines operation combined with
downstream steam turbine op-eration resulting in high conversion efficiencies.

Dish-Stirling systems can use an engine at the focus of each dish or transport
heat from an array of dishes to a single central power-generating block.

Solar updraft towers work with a central updraft tube to generate a solar
induced convec-tive flow which drives pressure staged turbines.
The total solar-to-electricity efficiencies are calculated by combining the

conversion of solar energy to heat within the collector (solar-to-heat efficiency) with
the conversion of heat to electricity in the power block (heat-to-electricity efficiency).
Our sun produces 400,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 watts of energy every
second and the belief is that it will last for another 5 billion years. The United States
reached peak oil production in 1970, and there is no telling when global oil production
will peak, but it is accepted that when it is gone the party is over. The sun, however, is
the most reliable and abundant source of energy.

CHAPTER-2
2

PIONEERING POWER DEVELOPMENTS

2.1 SOLAR ENGINE ONE POWER PLANT, 1913
The first documented Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant Solar Engine
One, operated at Al Meadi, then a small farming community, and later a vibrant
suburb of Cairo, Egypt, in 1913. Construction started in the fall of 1912 of the
parabolic trough solar collector irrigation pumping station. Al Meadi lies on the Nile
River 15 miles (20 km) south of Cairo on the road to Helwan, a hot springs and
mineral water resort town.
Solar Engine One was installed at the Al Meadi water works and had a capacity
of 100 brake HP which were used to pump Nile River water for irrigation
Solar Engine One was developed by the Philadelphia, USA inventor,
entrepreneur, and solar visionary Frank Shuman. Five trench parabolic concentrating
reflectorss were constructed using local labor and materials. Each collector was 204
feet (62 m) in length, 13 feet (4 m) in width, with a spacing of 7.6 m, oriented in a
north-south direction and fitted with a mechanical tracker mechanism which kept
them automatically tilted to face the sun from east to west.

Figure -2.1 Schematic of 100 HP Solar Engine One

The steam engine was shipped from the USA. The steam collected by the
reflectors was used to power a water pump for the first time on July 11, 1913. They
initially produced the equivalent power of 55 HP and were capable of pumping 6,000
gallons of water per minute (gpm) or 27,260 liters/ min, bringing irrigation water to
arid desert land. A public demonstration was postponed due to a technical glitch
where the zinc material used in the boiler tubes did not withstand the operational
temperature and had to be replaced with cast iron tubing. The solar engine achieved
an efficiency of 4 percent compared with the 10 percent efficiency of a steam engine.

2.2 AUGUSTIN BERNARD MOUCHOT (1825-1912) TRUNCATED

3

CONE SOLAR ENGINE

Augustin Mouchot is considered to have built the first solar engine based on a
truncated cone dish. He performed his first solar energy experiments in 1860 with
solar cooking devices. Between 1860 and 1880 he worked on developing solar
powered steam engines. In 1861 he was granted the first patent for a solar engine and
continued his work until 1880. He initially used an iron cauldron enclosed in glass
through which solar radiation passed and boiled water in the cauldron. The amounts
and pressure of steam were disappointing. He discovered that by adding a reflector to
concentrate solar radiation, he could produce much more steam that he used in 1865
to operate a steam engine.

Figure -2.2 Truncated cone (inverted lamp shade) dish engine

In the summer of 1866, he had completed his first sun-powered engine which
was presented to the French Emperor Napoleon III in Paris who provided him with
financial support to develop an industrial solar engine. He continued development and
increased the capacity of his solar experiments refining the reflector to the form of a
truncated cone.

2.3 ROBERT STIRLING ENGINE (1790-1878)

The trail had been blazed earlier when the Scottish Pastor Robert Stirling
(1790-1878) filed a patent for a hot air engine in 1816. In the Sterling cycle engine,
the air contained in a cylinder underwent four cycles: heating, expansion, cooling and
compression with the energy provided by an external heat source to produce rotational
motion. In spite of numerous applications, the Stirling cycle engine was overcome by
the economical competiveness of the steam engine and the internal combustion
engine. The Stirling cycle engine, as an external heat source engine is being revived
as the ideal engine for CSE generators. It also offers silent running, a high efficiency,
and reliability, requiring little maintenance and no exhaust products when solar energy
4

is used as an external heat source.

2.4 JOHN ERICSSON PARABOLIC TROUGH, 1883

Around 1883, Captain John Ericsson used a longitudinal parabolic
concentrator to operate a steam engine for pumping water. An engineer of Swedish
heritage, he designed the ironclad steam-powered battleship The Monitor, that was
credited for tipping the scale in the American Civil War to the North Unions side.
John Ericsson in 1868 believed that the industrial revolution would soon founder for
lack of easily accessible coal reserves, and considered solar power as a more
sustainable alternative: A couple thousand years dropped in the ocean of time will
completely exhaust the coal fields of Europe, unless, in the meantime, the heat of the
sun is employed.

Figure -2.3 Captain John Ericsson longitudinal trough parabolic concentrator

Although John Ericssons experiments with solar motors powered by both

steam and hot air never advanced beyond the prototype stage, his efforts sparked the
imaginations of other inventors and pioneers including Augustin Mouchot, Aubrey G.
Eneas, Abel Pifre, Henry E. Willsee, John Boyle and Nikola Tesla.
John Ericsson invested $100,000 and the last twenty years of his life in an
effort which was mildly successful since a steam engine has only a 10 percent
efficiency compared with a 38 percent efficiency of a Diesel engine.

2.5 WILLIAM ADAMS, CENTRAL RECEIVER, SOLAR TOWER

CONCEPT, 1878
William Adams was the deputy registrar for the British Crown in Bombay,
India, at the time of Augustin Mouchot work in France. He wrote a book: Solar Heat:
A Substitute for Fuel in Tropical Countries.
He read an account of the Augustin Mouchot demonstrations at Tours, France,
observed that the invention was impractical, as: it would be impossible to construct a
dish shaped reflector of much greater dimensions for a greater capacity than

Mouchout's 1/2 HP. He reasoned that the silver metal reflector would tarnish, and
would be too costly to build and too unwieldy to efficiently track the sun.
As a remedy to the size scaling issue, he suggested that a reflector of flat
silvered mirrors arranged in a semi-circle would be cheaper to construct and easier to
maintain. He planned to build a large rack of multiple small mirrors that are each
adjusted to reflect solar radiation in a specific direction. As a tracking mechanism, the
entire rack could be rolled around a semicircular track, reflecting the solar radiation
onto a stationary boiler. With cheap labor available he envisioned that the rack could
be attended by a worker and would be moved only three or four times during the
day, with a larger number to frequently improve the performance.
William Adams started in 1878 by gradually adding 17x10 inch flat mirrors
and measuring the resulting rising temperatures. He estimated that to reach the 1,200
o

F needed to produce the high pressure steam needed to operate off the shelf steam

engines, the reflector would be composed of 72 mirrors.

By placing a piece of wood at the focal point of the arranged flat panes it
ignited instantly. He arranged the collectors around a boiler, retaining Augustin
Mouchout's enclosed cauldron configuration, and connected it to a 2.5 HP steam
engine that operated during daylight hours for a fortnight in the compound of his
bungalow in Bombay, India.
He displayed his device to newspaper reporters, the Army's commander in
chief, a colonel from the Royal Engineers, the secretary of public works, various
justices, and a principal mill owner, who were impressed.
Having proved the concept, William Adams did not pursue it further, turning
his attention to other interests. Yet his idea persists today as the Central Receiver or
the Power Tower concept. It is considered as the best configuration for large scale
centralized solar plants. Modern central receiver solar plants follow the basic
configuration of flat or slightly curved mirrors that remain stationary or travel on a
semicircular track. They could reflect light upward to a boiler in a receiver tower or
be reflected downward to a boiler at the ground level.

Figure -2.4 Central Receiver or Solar Tower plant.

2.6 CHRLES TELLIER FLAT COLLECTORS

French engineer Charles Tellier is known as the father of refrigeration systems, but he
began his work trying to improve on the Augustin Mouchot and William Adams
designs. He designed the first non-concentrating, or non-reflecting, flat panel solar
engine.
Charles Tellier installed in 1885 a solar collector on the roof of his house similar in all
respects to the flat panel collectors placed atop many south facing roofs today for
heating domestic water or for swimming pools. His collector consisted of ten plates,
each consisting of two iron sheets riveted together to form a watertight seal, and
connected by tubes to form a single unit.
As a working medium, he used ammonia, NH 3 as a working medium because
of its lower boiling point than steam. Enough pressurized ammonia gas was produced
to run a turbine driving a water pump drawing 300 gallons per hour during daylight
from his well. Charles Tellier thought that by adding more plates industrial
applications would be possible.
He enhanced the efficiency of his collectors by 1889 by enclosing the top in a
glass enclosure and insulating its bottom. He documented his work in the publication:
The Elevation of Water with the Solar Atmosphere, in which he included details on
his thoughts on using the sun to produce ice.

Figure -2.5 Roof-top flat panel thermal solar collectors for domestic water heating

2.7 AUBREY ENEAS SOLAR MOTOR AT THE CAWSTON

OSTRISH FARM, 1901
The baton in solar experimentation was passed from Europe to the USA as a
7

solar-driven water pump was developed by Aubrey Eneas at the Cawston Ostrich
Farm in South Pasadena, California, USA around 1916. It consisted of a parabolic dish
mirror made of a large number of single glass panes set together. It had a diameter of
12 yards. Solar radiation was focused on a large cylindrical water tank, 2 yards long
as its axis. When empty of water on a sunny day its walls would glow red-hot within
an hour. Its volume accommodated 400 quarts of water that were brought to the
boiling point within 15 minutes. The steam drove a turbine of a 10 HP power, which
operated through a pulley and belt a pump capable of pumping 5,600 quarts of water
per hour.
The mirrored parabolic dish had more than 700 feet of surface area and
measured 35 feet across at its wide end. The device was hitched to a track running the
length of a vertical lightweight steel tower that allowed a clock tracking mechanism to
keep the device angled toward the sun throughout the day. It pumped 1,400 gallons of
water per minute (gpm).

Figure -2.6 Aubrey Eneas Solar Motor on a parabolic dish concentrator and a central boiler

The Solar Motor was the inception of Aubrey Eneas, of British heritage. He
was an engineer based in Boston, Massachusetts and was inspired by John Ericssons
work. He founded the Solar Motor Company of Boston in 1892.
After experimenting with an John Ericsson-like device using a parabolic
trough-shaped reflector that had the detriment of heating only one side of the boiler,
Aubrey Eneas adopted Augustin Mouchots parabolic dish reflector design to heat the
boiler more evenly, producing a larger volume of steam. By cutting off the bottom end
of the parabolic dish and making the side more upright, Aubrey Eneas increased the
amount of sun radiation heating the boiler, generating an average temperature of
1,000 oF. In 1903, Aubrey Eneas relocated the Solar Motor Company from Boston to
Los Angeles, California.

CHAPTER 3
COLLECTORS
3.1 Low-Temperature Collectors
Glazed solar collectors are designed primarily for space heating. They recirculate building air through a solar air panel where the air is heated and then
directed back into the building. These solar space heating systems require at least two
penetrations into the building and only perform when the air in the solar collector is
warmer than the building room temperature. Most glazed collectors are used in the
residential sector.
Unglazed solar collectors are primarily used to pre-heat make-up ventilation
air in commercial, industrial and institutional buildings with a high ventilation load.
They turn building walls or sections of walls into low cost, high performance,
unglazed solar collectors. Also called, "transpired solar panels", they employ a painted
perforated metal solar heat absorber that also serves as the exterior wall surface of the
building. Heat conducts from the absorber surface to the thermal boundary layer of air
1 mm thick on the outside of the absorber and to air that passes behind the absorber.
The boundary layer of air is drawn into a nearby perforation before the heat can
escape by convection to the outside air. The heated air is then drawn from behind the
absorber plate into the building's ventilation system.
A Trombe wall is a passive solar heating and ventilation system consisting of
an air channel sandwiched between a window and a sun-facing thermal mass. During
the ventilation cycle, sunlight stores heat in the thermal mass and warms the air
channel causing circulationthrough vents at the top and bottom of the wall. During the
heating cycle the Trombe wall radiates stored heat.
Solar roof ponds are unique solar heating and cooling systems developed by
Harold Hay in the 1960s. A basic system consists of a roof-mounted water bladder
with a movable insulating cover. This system can control heat exchange between
interior and exterior environments by covering and uncovering the bladder between

night and day. When heating is a concern the bladder is uncovered during the day
allowing sunlight to warm the water bladder and store heat for evening use. When
cooling is a concern the covered bladder draws heat from the building's interior during
the day and is uncovered at night to radiate heat to the cooler atmosphere. The
Skytherm house in Atascadero, California uses a prototype roof pond for heating and
cooling.
Solar space heating with solar air heat collectors is more popular in the USA
and Canada than heating with solar liquid collectors since most buildings already have
a ventilation system for heating and cooling. The two main types of solar air panels
are glazed and unglazed.
Of the 21,000,000 square feet (2,000,000 m2) of solar thermal collectors
produced in the United States in 2007, 16,000,000 square feet (1,500,000 m2) were of
the low-temperature variety. Low-temperature collectors are generally installed to
heat swimming pools, although they can also be used for space heating. Collectors
can use air or water as the medium to transfer the heat to their destination.

Application of Low Tempreature Collector

3.1.1 Solar-Driven Cooling
Worldwide, by 2011 there were about 750 cooling systems with solar-driven
heat pumps, and annual market growth was 40 to 70% over the prior seven years. It is
a niche market because the economics are challenging, with the annual number of
cooling hours a limiting factor. Respectively, the annual cooling hours are roughly
1000 in the Mediterranean, 2500 in Southeast Asia, and only 50 to 200 in Central
Europe. However, systeme construction costs dropped about 50% between 2007 and
2011. TheInternational Energy Agency (IEA) Solar Heating and Cooling program
(IEA-SHC) task groups working on further development of the technologies involved.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) Solar Heating and Cooling program (IEASHC) task groups working on further development of the technologies involved.

3.1.2 Solar Heat-Driven Ventilation

A

solar

chimney

(or

thermal

chimney)

is

passive

solar

ventilation system composed of a hollow thermal mass connecting the interior and
10

exterior of a building. As the chimney warms, the air inside is heated causing
an updraft that pulls air through the building. These systems have been in use since
Roman times and remain common in the Middle East.

3.1.3 Process Heat

Solar process heating systems are designed to provide large quantities of hot
water or space heating for non residential buildings.
Evaporation

ponds

are

shallow

ponds

that

concentrate

dissolved

solids

through evaporation. The use of evaporation ponds to obtain salt from sea water is
one of the oldest applications of solar energy. Modern uses include concentrating
brine solutions used in leach mining and removing dissolved solids from waste
streams. Altogether, evaporation ponds represent one of the largest commercial
applications of solar energy in use today.
Unglazed transpired collectors (UTC) are perforated sun-facing walls used for
preheating ventilation air. UTCs can raise the incoming air temperature up to 22 C
and deliver outlet temperatures of 45-60 C. The short payback period of transpired
collectors (3 to 12 years) make them a more cost-effective alternative to glazed
collection systems. As of 2009, over 1500 systems with a combined collector area of
300,000 m2 had been installed worldwide. Representatives include an 860 m2 collector
in Costa Rica used for drying coffee beans and a 1300 m 2 collector in Coimbatore,
India used for drying marigolds.
A food processing facility in Modesto, California uses parabolic troughs to
produce steam used in the manufacturing process. The 5,000 m 2 collector area is
expected to provide 15 TJ per year.

3.2 Medium-Temperature Collectors

These collectors could be used to produce approximately 50% and more of the
hot water needed for residential and commercial use in the United States. In the
United States, a typical system costs $4000$6000 retail ($1400 to $2200 wholesale
for the materials) and 30% of the system qualifies for a federal tax credit + additional
state credit exists in about half of the states. Labour for a simple open loop system in
southern climates can take 35 hours for the installation and 46 hours in Northern
areas. Northern systems require more collector area and more complex plumbing to
11

protect the collector from freezing. With this incentive, the payback time for a typical
household is four to nine years, depending on the state. Similar subsidies exist in parts
of Europe. A crew of one solar plumber and two assistants with minimal training can
install a system per day. Thermo siphon installation have negligible maintenance costs
(costs rise if antifreeze and mains power are used for circulation) and in the US
reduces a households' operating costs by $6 per person per month. Solar water heating
can reduce CO2 emissions of a family of four by 1 ton/year (if replacing natural gas)
or 3 ton/year (if replacing electricity). Medium-temperature installations can use any
of several designs: common designs are pressurized glycol, drain back, batch systems
and newer low pressure freeze tolerant systems using polymer pipes containing water
with photovoltaic pumping. European and International standards are being reviewed
to accommodate innovations in design and operation of medium temperature
collectors. Operational innovations include "permanently wetted collector" operation.
This innovation reduces or even eliminates the occurrence of no-flow high
temperature stresses called stagnation which would otherwise reduce the life
expectancy of collectors.
3.2.1 Solar Drying
Solar thermal energy can be useful for drying wood for construction and wood
fuels such as wood chips for combustion. Solar is also used for food products such as
fruits, grains, and fish. Crop drying by solar means is environmentally friendly as well
as cost effective while improving the quality. The less money it takes to make a
product, the less it can be sold for, pleasing both the buyers and the sellers.
Technologies in solar drying include ultra low cost pumped transpired plate air
collectors based on black fabrics. Solar thermal energy is helpful in the process of
drying products such as wood chips and other forms of biomass by raising the
temperature while allowing air to pass through and get rid of the moisture
3.2.2 Cooking
Solar cookers use sunlight for cooking, drying and pasteurization. Solar
cooking offsets fuel costs, reduces demand for fuel or firewood, and improves air
quality by reducing or removing a source of smoke.
The simplest type of solar cooker is the box cooker first built by Horace de
Saussure in 1767. A basic box cooker consists of an insulated container with a
transparent lid. These cookers can be used effectively with partially overcast skies and
will typically reach temperatures of 50100 C.
12

Concentrating solar cookers use reflectors to concentrate solar energy onto a

cooking container. The most common reflector geometries are flat plate, disc and
parabolic trough type. These designs cook faster and at higher temperatures (up to
350 C) but require direct light to function properly.
The Solar Kitchen in Auroville, India uses a unique concentrating technology
known as the solar bowl. Contrary to conventional tracking reflector/fixed receiver
systems, the solar bowl uses a fixed spherical reflector with a receiver which tracks
the focus of light as the Sun moves across the sky. The solar bowl's receiver reaches
temperature of 150 C that is used to produce steam that helps cook 2,000 daily
meals.
Many other solar kitchens in India use another unique concentrating
technology known as the Scheffler reflector. This technology was first developed
by Wolfgang Scheffler in 1986. A Scheffler reflector is a parabolic dish that uses
single axis tracking to follow the Sun's daily course. These reflectors have a flexible
reflective surface that is able to change its curvature to adjust to seasonal variations in
the incident angle of sunlight. Scheffler reflectors have the advantage of having a
fixed focal point which improves the ease of cooking and are able to reach
temperatures of 450-650 C. Built in 1999 by the Brahma Kumaris, the world's largest
Scheffler reflector system in Abu Road, Rajasthan India is capable of cooking up to
35,000 meals a day. By early 2008, over 2000 large cookers of the Scheffler design
had been built worldwide.
3.2.3 Distillation
Solar stills can be used to make drinking water in areas where clean water is
not common. Solar distillation is necessary in these situations to provide people with
purified water. Solar energy heats up the water in the still. The water then evaporates
and condenses on the bottom of the covering glass.

3.3 High-Temperature Collectors

Where temperatures below about 95 C are sufficient, as for space heating,
flat-plate collectors of the non concentrating type are generally used. Because of the
relatively high heat losses through the glazing, flat plate collectors will not reach
temperatures much above 200 C even when the heat transfer fluid is stagnant. Such
temperatures are too low for efficient conversion to electricity.
The efficiency of heat engines increases with the temperature of the heat
source. To achieve this in solar thermal energy plants, solar radiation is concentrated
13

by mirrors or lenses to obtain higher temperatures a technique called Concentrated

Solar Power (CSP). The practical effect of high efficiencies is to reduce the plant's
collector size and total land use per unit power generated, reducing the environmental
impacts of a power plant as well as its expense.
As the temperature increases, different forms of conversion become practical.
Up to 600 C, steam turbines, standard technology, have efficiency up to 41%. Above
600 C, gas turbines can be more efficient. Higher temperatures are problematic
because different materials and techniques are needed. One proposal for very high
temperatures is to use liquid fluoride salts operating between 700 C to 800 C, using
multi-stage turbine systems to achieve 50% or more thermal efficiencies. The
higher operating temperatures permit the plant to use higher-temperature dry heat
exchangers for its thermal exhaust, reducing the plant's water use critical in the
deserts where large solar plants are practical. High temperatures also make heat
storage more efficient, because more watt-hours are stored per unit of fluid.
Commercial concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) plants were first
developed in the 1980s. The worlds largest solar thermal power plants are now the
370 MW Ivanpah

Solar

Power

Facility,

commissioned

in

2014,

and

the

354 MW SEGS CSP installation, both located in the Mojave Desert of California,
where several other solar projects have been realized as well. With the exception of
the Shams solar power station, built in 2013 near Abu Dhabi, the United Arab
Emirates, all other 100 MW or larger CSP plants are either located in the United
States or in Spain.
The principal advantage of CSP is the ability to efficiently add thermal
storage, allowing the dispatching of electricity over up to a 24-hour period. Since
peak electricity demand typically occurs at about 5 pm, many CSP power plants use 3
to 5 hours of thermal storage. With current technology, storage of heat is much
cheaper and more efficient than storage of electricity. In this way, the CSP plant can
produce electricity day and night. If the CSP site has predictable solar radiation, then
the CSP plant becomes a reliable power plant. Reliability can further be improved by
installing a back-up combustion system. The back-up system can use most of the CSP
plant, which decreases the cost of the back-up system.
CSP facilities utilize high electrical conductivity materials, such as copper, in
field power cables, grounding networks, and motors for tracking and pumping fluids,
as well as in the main generator and high voltage transformers With reliability, unused
desert, no pollution, and no fuel costs, the obstacles for large deployment for CSP are
14

cost, aesthetics, land use and similar factors for the necessary connecting high tension
lines. Although only a small percentage of the desert is necessary to meet global
electricity demand, still a large area must be covered with mirrors or lenses to obtain a
significant amount of energy. An important way to decrease cost is the use of a simple
design.
When considering land use impacts associated with the exploration and
extraction through to transportation and conversion of fossil fuels, which are used for
most of our electrical power, utility-scale solar power compares as one of the most
land-efficient energy resources available:
The federal government has dedicated nearly 2,000 times more acreage to oil
and gas leases than to solar development. In 2010 the Bureau of Land Management
approved nine large-scale solar projects, with a total generating capacity of 3,682
megawatts, representing approximately 40,000 acres. In contrast, in 2010, the Bureau
of Land Management processed more than 5,200 applications gas and oil leases, and
issued 1,308 leases, for a total of 3.2 million acres. Currently, 38.2 million acres of
onshore public lands and an additional 36.9 million acres of offshore exploration in
the Gulf of Mexico are under lease for oil and gas development, exploration and
production.

15

CHAPTER - 4
SYSTEM DESIGNS
During the day the sun has different positions. For low concentration systems
(and low temperatures) tracking can be avoided (or limited to a few positions per
year) if non imaging optics are used. For higher concentrations, however, if the
mirrors or lenses do not move, then the focus of the mirrors or lenses changes (but
also in these cases non imaging optics provides the widest acceptance angles for a
given concentration). Therefore, it seems unavoidable that there needs to be a tracking
system that follows the position of the sun (for solar photovoltaic a solar tracker is
only optional). The tracking system increases the cost and complexity. With this in
mind, different designs can be distinguished in how they concentrate the light and
track the position of the sun.

4.1 Parabolic Trough Designs

Parabolic trough power plants use a curved, mirrored trough which reflects the
direct solar radiation onto a glass tube containing a fluid (also called a receiver,
absorber or collector) running the length of the trough, positioned at the focal point of
the reflectors. The trough is parabolic along one axis and linear in the orthogonal axis.
For change of the daily position of the sun perpendicular to the receiver, the trough
tilts east to west so that the direct radiation remains focused on the receiver. However,
16

seasonal changes in the in angle of sunlight parallel to the trough does not require
adjustment of the mirrors, since the light is simply concentrated elsewhere on the
receiver. Thus the trough design does not require tracking on a second axis. The
receiver may be enclosed in a glass vacuum chamber. The vacuum significantly
reduces convective heat loss.

Fig. -4.1 parabolic through design

Fig.- 4.2 Real image of parabolic through design

A fluid (also called heat transfer fluid) passes through the receiver and
becomes very hot. Common fluids are synthetic oil, molten salt and pressurized
steam. The fluid containing the heat is transported to a heat engine where about a third
of the heat is converted to electricity.
Full-scale parabolic trough systems consist of many such troughs laid out in
parallel over a large area of land. Since 1985 a solar thermal system using this
principle has been in full operation in California in the United States. It is called
the Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) system. Other CSP designs lack this

17

kind of long experience and therefore it can currently be said that the parabolic trough
design is the most thoroughly proven CSP technology.
The SEGS is a collection of nine plants with a total capacity of 354 MW and
has been the world's largest solar power plant, both thermal and non-thermal, for
many years. A newer plant is Nevada Solar One plant with a capacity of 64 MW. The
150 MW Andasol solar power stations are in Spain with each site having a capacity of
50 MW. Note however, that those plants have heat storage which requires a larger
field of solar collectors relative to the size of the steam turbine-generator to store heat
and send heat to the steam turbine at the same time. Heat storage enables better
utilization of the steam turbine. With day and some night time operation of the steamturbine Andasol 1 at 50 MW peak capacities produces more energy than Nevada Solar
One at 64 MW peak capacities, due to the former plant's thermal energy storage
system and larger solar field. The 280MW Solana Generating Station came online in
Arizona in 2013 with 6 hours of power storage. Hassi R'Mel integrated solar
combined cycle power station in Algeria and Martin Next Generation Solar Energy
Center both use parabolic troughs in a combined cycle with natural gas.

4.2 Power Tower Designs

Power towers (also known as 'central tower' power plants or 'heliostat' power
plants) capture and focus the sun's thermal energy with thousands of tracking mirrors
(called heliostats) in roughly a two square mile field. A tower resides in the centre of
the heliostat field. The heliostats focus concentrated sunlight on a receiver which sits
on top of the tower. Within the receiver the concentrated sunlight heats molten salt to
over 1,000 F (538 C). The heated molten salt then flows into a thermal storage tank
where it is stored, maintaining 98% thermal efficiency, and eventually pumped to a
steam generator. The steam drives a standard turbine to generate electricity. This
process, also known as the "Rankine cycle" is similar to a standard coal-fired power
plant, except it is fuelled by clean and free solar energy.

18

Figure -4.3 power toweer design

The advantage of this design above the parabolic trough design is the higher
temperature. Thermal energy at higher temperatures can be converted to electricity
more efficiently and can be more cheaply stored for later use. Furthermore, there is
less need to flatten the ground area. In principle a power tower can be built on the side
of a hill. Mirrors can be flat and plumbing is concentrated in the tower. The
disadvantage is that each mirror must have its own dual-axis control; while in the
parabolic trough design single axis tracking can be shared for a large array of mirrors.
A cost/performance comparison between power tower and parabolic trough
concentrators was made by the NREL which estimated that by 2020 electricity could
be produced from power towers for 5.47 /kWh and for 6.21 /kWh from parabolic
troughs. The capacity factor for power towers was estimated to be 72.9% and 56.2%
for parabolic troughs. There is some hope that the development of cheap, durable,
mass producible heliostat power plant components could bring this cost down.
The first commercial tower power plant was PS10 in Spain with a capacity of
11 MW, completed in 2007. Since then a number of plants have been proposed,
several have been built on a number of countries (Spain, Germany, U.S., Turkey,
China and India) but several proposed plants were cancelled as photovoltaic solar
prices plummeted. A solar power tower is expected to come online in South Africa in
2014. Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in California generates 392 MW of electricity
from three towers, making it the largest solar power tower plant when it came online
in late 2013.

4.3 Dish Designs

CSP-Stirling is known to have the highest efficiency of all solar technologies
(around 30%, compared to solar photovoltaic's approximately 15%), and is predicted
to be able to produce the cheapest energy among all renewable energy sources in
high-scale production and hot areas, semi-deserts, etc. A dish Stirling system uses a
large, reflective, parabolic dish (similar in shape to a satellite television dish). It
focuses all the sunlight that strikes the dish up onto a single point above the dish,
where a receiver captures the heat and transforms it into a useful form. Typically the
dish is coupled with a Stirling engine in a Dish-Stirling System, but also sometimes
a steam engine is used. These create rotational kinetic energy that can be converted to
electricity using an electric generator.
19

In 2005 Southern California Edison announced an agreement to purchase solar

powered Stirling engines from Stirling Energy Systemsover a twenty-year period and
in quantities (20,000 units) sufficient to generate 500 megawatts of electricity. In
January 2010, Stirling Energy Systems and Tessera Solar commissioned the first
demonstration 1.5-megawatt power plant ("Maricopa Solar") using Stirling
technology in Peoria, Arizona. At the beginning of 2011 Stirling Energy's
development arm, Tessera Solar, sold of its two large projects.

figure -4.4 Dish Type Design

The 709 MW Imperial project and the 850 MW Calico project to AES Solar
and K.Road respectively. In 2012 the Maricopa plant was bought and dismantled
by United Sun Systems. United Sun Systems released a new generation system, based
on a V-shaped Stirling engine and a peak production of 33 kW. The new CSP-Stirling
technology brings down LCOE to USD 0.02 in utility scale.
According to its developer, Rispasso Energy, a Swedish firm, in 2015 its Dish
Sterling system being tested in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa showed 34%
efficiency.
20

4.4 Fresnel Technologies

A linear Fresnel reflector power plant uses a series of long, narrow, shallowcurvature (or even flat) mirrors to focus light onto one or more linear receivers
positioned above the mirrors. On top of the receiver a small parabolic mirror can be
attached for further focusing the light. These systems aim to offer lower overall costs
by sharing a receiver between several mirrors (as compared with trough and dish
concepts), while still using the simple line-focus geometry with one axis for tracking.
This is similar to the trough design (and different from central towers and dishes with
dual-axis). The receiver is stationary and so fluid couplings are not required (as in
troughs and dishes). The mirrors also do not need to support the receiver, so they are
structurally simpler. When suitable aiming strategies are used (mirrors aimed at
different receivers at different times of day), this can allow a denser packing of
mirrors on available land area.

Figure - 4.5 Fresnal Technology

Rival single axis tracking technologies include the relatively new linear
Fresnel reflector (LFR) and compact-LFR (CLFR) technologies. The LFR differs
from that of the parabolic trough in that the absorber is fixed in space above the
mirror field. Also, the reflector is composed of many low row segments, which focus
collectively on an elevated long tower receiver running parallel to the reflector
rotational axis.
Prototypes of Fresnel lens concentrators have been produced for the collection
of thermal energy by International Automated Systems. No full-scale thermal systems
using Fresnel lenses are known to be in operation, although products incorporating
Fresnel lenses in conjunction with photovoltaic cells are already available.

21

4.5 Enclosed Parabolic Trough

The enclosed parabolic trough solar thermal system encapsulates the
components within an off-the-shelf greenhouse type of glasshouse. The glasshouse
protects the components from the elements that can negatively impact system
reliability and efficiency. This protection importantly includes nightly glass-roof
washing

with

optimized

water-efficient

off-the-shelf

automated

washing

systems. Lightweight curved solar-reflecting mirrors are suspended from the ceiling
of the glasshouse by wires. A single-axis tracking system positions the mirrors to
retrieve the optimal amount of sunlight. The mirrors concentrate the sunlight and
focus it on a network of stationary steel pipes, also suspended from the glasshouse
structure. Water is pumped through the pipes and boiled to generate steam when
intense sun radiation is applied. The steam is available for process heat. Sheltering the
mirrors from the wind allows them to achieve higher temperature rates and prevents
dust from building up on the mirrors as a result from exposure to humidity.

Figure - 4.6 Enclosed Parabolic Through Design

22

CHAPTER 5
BARRIERS OF DEVLOPMENT OF SOLAR ENERGY
India today finds itself on the path of becoming one of the leading nations in solar
energy by taking steps towards implementing large MW scale solar power projects and is
poised to position itself as a one of the worlds major solar producer as well as a
manufacturing hub for solar power plants. The effective utilization of Indias solar potential
will lie in the successful implementation of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission
(JNNSM) which was announced by the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan
Singh on 11th January 2010. This would also mitigate the international pressure with regard
to emission reductions.
There have been discussions at various forums on the actual implementation
modalities and issues with regard to the NSM. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
(MNRE) and Ministry of Power (MoP), two entities driving this Mission together have been
forthcoming and welcoming in hearing the issues faced by the developers.
The World Bank initiated a study to understand the ground level barriers that the
developers are facing in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of steps required to
mitigate the same. During this study, twenty-five developers were interviewed on five
parameters (Policy and Regulations, Technology, Solar Radiation Data, Infrastructure and
Financing) which covered the development cycle of solar power project ranging from policy
to financing aspects and this report is primarily based on the responses of the developers.
On the basis of the study, the five most critical barriers which could be addressed in
the short term, according to the developers were
The Power Purchase Agreement could be made bankable so that the financing of these
projects would become easier.
The minimum and maximum capacity to be developed by a single developer could be
ascertained based on the prior installation experience of the developer worldwide to achieve
higher success rates.
The Domestic Content criterion could be removed for the first phase to create competition
and this could possibly result in deployment of technologies which are already
commercialised and have operational experience abroad.
The state nodal agencies could be involved to a larger extent and single window clearance
could be enabled to cut down on lead times faced by the developers at each step
A single government or semi government financing agency could act as the focal point for
all applications to be processed (after detailed technical and commercial due diligence) and
then other financing institutions could take up these projects for financing. Study on barriers

for solar power development in India.

Around 63% of the developers interviewed stated that barriers in policy and
regulatory aspects were the most significant barriers. Around 53% of the developers stated
that along with policy barriers, the infrastructure barriers are critical too. Approximately 37%
of developers viewed solar radiation data as one of the important barriers which also has a
key effect on the financing of the solar power projects in the country. Figure 5.1 illustrates the
rating of barriers according to the study.
11% 10%
0

Policy barriers
63%

37%

53%

Infrastructure
barriers
Solar
Radiation
data
unavialabiliy

as a barrier
Figure 5.1: Rating of Barriers

5.1 Policy and Regulatory Barriers

Amongst the policy and regulatory barriers the key issues raised by the developers
were the following
Llong term planning
Clarity in policy guidelines
Bankability of PPA
Inclusion of hybridization policy for solar thermal technology
Effective technical criteria which clearly focused on the success of the mission rather than
giving everybody a fair chance to participate in the mission

5.2 Infrastructure Barriers

Clearly land was the most critical of all the infrastructure related barriers. The
approval processes and inability of the state governments to provide single window clearance
to developers made infrastructure the second most important barrier.

5.3 Solar Radiation Data related Barriers

Most of the developers were of the opinion that India needed to set up its own solar
radiation data collection stations in order to facilitate accelerated development of solar power
projects in the country. It is a fact that success of a solar power project depended majorly on
the radiation data; it was hinged to financial closures.

5.4 Technology and Financing Barriers

Of all the barriers these two barriers were the least mentioned since, if there is a
market, technology costs would eventually fall and financing of the same would become
easier. Also Policy, Infrastructure and radiation data once resolved, technology and financing
were certainly not a major issue for the developers.
Following the announcement of the mission document, the Government of India
issued Draft Guidelines for new large-scale grid connected projects and roof top/tail-end
applications on April 1st 2010. It also brought out the final guidelines for migration of
existing projects in states to JNNSM. 63% 53% 37% 11% 10% Policy barriers Infrastructure
barriers Solar Radiation data unavialabiliy as a barrier Study on barriers for solar power
development in India. This led to a slow down of development activities at state level since
the developers viewed JNNSM to be more promising than the state policies. Some of the
other developments that took place after the draft guidelines were announced were:
The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) announced the benchmark capital
costs for solar PV and solar thermal technologies and the proposed levelized tariffs that were
higher than the state tariffs.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Ministry of Power (MoP) started
discussions with the developers on draft guidelines through various forums.
The developers had various issues regarding the draft guidelines and initiated
dialogues/provided feedbacks with/to both the Ministries.
The deadlines that were set in the draft guidelines have been delayed.
The Gujarat Government in the meanwhile approached the developers with limited
timeframe for implementation of the projects providing the developers with a robust Power
Purchase Agreement (PPA) which is more bankable than the Missions draft PPA.
Approximately 200MW of PPAs were signed in Gujarat and developers will commence
project implementation soon.
Some of the developers who had initially got allotment for solar thermal power projects
changed their allotment to solar PV and entered into binding PPAs with Gujarat State
Government even though the tariffs were lower.
Having achieved various milestones like land acquisition, equity tie up and so on, the
solar power project developers in India are now awaiting for the final guidelines to be rolled
out. Though the developers discussed in detail the barriers, there was certainly a sense of
optimism that the final guidelines would surely address most of their concerns. The following
are the specific key aspects put forth by the developers which could contribute to the
successful implementation of the Mission:
Clarity with regard to long term planning, driving entities, roles and responsibilities of
different entities and specifications on criteria, in the final guidelines.

 Zone based tariffs across India to facilitate development of solar power projects across India.
Technical criteria to be strengthened and to be used efficiently while selection of projects
rather than a tariff bidding process. Also the criterion of minimum and maximum capacity
could be removed for a developer, if the technical criteria are tougher.
State Nodal Agencies should be roped in with clear instructions/responsibilities which will
address the infrastructure related barriers.
The Government of India needs to establish its own radiation monitoring stations and provide
data to developers so that financing becomes easier.
More research and development centres should be opened up with more incentives given to
manufacturing units. Long term visibility in the policy regarding the same is a must.
Carry out capacity building exercise across all banks and financial institutions with regard to
solar power and involving them in all stakeholder consultation processes.

CHAPTER 6
POTENTIAL OF SOLAR THERMAL TECHNOLOGY
6.1 WORLD SCENARIO OF SOLAR ENERGY
6.1.1 Advanced International Policies Scenario (AIP)
The solar thermal heating and cooling sector today is experiencing steady growth in
industrialized countries with mainly small scale applications. In future the extension to large
scale applications for heating and cooling is expected and this thereby will help to increase
the energy share rapidly. After 2030, a peak of growth will have been reached due to a
reduced need for heating and cooling installations. The reduction is based on the assumption
that by that time a greater level of energy efficiency performance in buildings will limit the
growth. It means that if energy systems are restructured with improved efficiency as a
guiding principle, then within a few decades the demand for thermal energy in the buildings
sector will no longer grow substantially. This particularly limits the demand for thermal

energy from solar sources and from biomass as well as geothermal sources for heating
demand over the medium term shown in Table 6.1, as
Table 6.1 : Expected annual growth rates for solar thermal

AIP

2001-2010

2010-2020

2020-2030

2030-2040

16%

16%

14%

7%

6.2 World Status

In percentage of total publications, it is seen that five leading countries USA (19.71%),
China (11.59%), Germany (10.56%), Japan (9.8%), and India (6.15%) together contribute
58% in the total publications, which is increasing trend in the research output (publications)
in the emerging areas of solar photovoltaic research. A smaller percentage of research
publications from India are in collaboration with other countries, largely USA, Germany,
Japan, and South Korea. We further analyze the publications from India vs. world in terms of
solar energy technologies.

6.3 Opportunities for Solar Thermal Power Generation in India

Solar thermal power generation plays a significant role in meeting the demand supply gap for
electricity. Three types of applications are possible.
Rural electrification using solar dish collector technology
Integration of solar thermal power plants with existing industries such as paper, dairy or
sugar industry, which has cogeneration units.
Integration of solar thermal power generation unit with existing coal thermal power plants.
6.3.1 Solar Research Centers
1) The energy and resources institute (TERI) TERI was formally established in 1974 with the
idea of tackling and dealing with the immense and acute problems that mankind will face
with in the years ahead.
2) The solar energy Centre (SEC) The Solar Energy Centre (SEC), established in 1982, is a
dedicated unit of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India for
growth of solar energy technologies and to promote its applications.
3) Centre for renewable energy and environment development (CREED) The objectives of
the Centre are:
(i) Conceive, develop, and implement renewable energy application and environment
protection projects.
(ii) Develop courses and organize awareness creation programs.
(iii) Collaborate with national and international organizations and institutions in the areas of
renewable energy education, training and technology improvement.
4) The solar energy of India (SESI) The Solar Energy of India (SESI), established in 1976,
and having its Secretariat in New Delhi, is the Indian section of the International Solar

Energy Society (ISES). Its interests cover all aspects of renewable energy, including
characteristics, effects and methods of use, and it provides a common ground to all those
concerned with the nature and utilization of this renewable non-polluting resource.
5) Auroville Centre for scientific research (CSR) Auroville Centre for Scientific Research
(CSR) is an international voluntary organization working towards a sustainable future in
the field of renewable energy systems (wind, solar, biomass), appropriate architecture &
building technologies, waste water recycling and sanitation, and the transfer of these
technologies through training programs.

6.4 Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission

Consequent to the announcement of the National Action Plan on Climate Change in
June 2008, which identified development of solar energy technologies in the country as a
National Mission, the Government of India has approved Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar
Mission (JNNSM) which aims at development and deployment of solar energy technologies
in the country to achieve parity with grid power tariff by 2022.
1. The objective of the National Solar Mission is to establish India as a global leader in solar
energy, by creating the policy conditions for its diffusion across the country as quickly as
possible.
2. The Mission will adopt a 3-phase approach, spanning the remaining period of the 11th Plan
and first year of the 12 thPlan (up to 2012-13) as Phase 1, the remaining 4 years of the
12th Plan (2013-17) as Phase 2 and the 13th Plan (2017-22) as Phase 3. At the end of each
plan, and mid-term during the 12th and 13th Plans, there will be an evaluation of progress,
review of capacity and targets for subsequent phases, based on emerging cost and technology
trends, both domestic and global. The aim would be to protect Government from subsidy
exposure in case expected cost reduction does not materialize or is more rapid than expected.
3. The immediate aim of the Mission is to focus on setting up an enabling environment for
solar technology penetration in the country both at a centralized and decentralized level. The
first phase (up to 2012- 2013) will focus on capturing of the low-hanging options in solar
thermal; on promoting off-grid systems to serve populations without access to commercial
energy and modest capacity addition in grid-based systems. In the second phase, after taking
into account the experience of the initial years, capacity will be aggressively ramped up to
create conditions for up scaled and competitive solar energy penetration in the country.
4. To achieve this, the Mission targets are:

To create an enabling policy framework for the deployment of 20,000 MW of solar

power by 2022.

To ramp up capacity of grid-connected solar power generation to 1000 MW within

three years by 2013; an additional 3000 MW by 2017 through the mandatory use of the
renewable purchase obligation by utilities backed with a preferential tariff. This capacity
can be more than doubled reaching 10,000MW installed power by 2017 or more, based
on the enhanced and enabled international finance and technology transfer. The ambitious
target for 2022 of 20,000 MW or more, will be dependent on the learning of the first two
phases, which if successful, could lead to conditions of grid-competitive solar power. The
transition could be appropriately up scaled, based on availability of international finance

and technology.
To create favourable conditions for solar manufacturing capability, particularly solar

thermal for indigenous production and market leadership.

To promote programmes for off grid applications, reaching 2000 MW by 2022
including 20 million solar lighting systems.
5. The Government has given In Principle approval to the over all targets proposed for the

various activities covered under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.
6. The Government has also decided to approve the implementation of the first phase of the
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission during 2009-2013 and the target to set up 1,000
MW grid connected (33 KV and above) solar plants, 100 MW of roof top and small solar
plants connected to LT/11 KV grid and 200 MW capacity equivalent off-grid solar
applications in the first phase of the Mission, till March, 2013. An amount of Rs.4337 crore
has been approved for the activities proposed under the first phase of the Mission till March
2013.
7. The implementation of the target of 1,000 MW of grid connected (33 KV and above) solar
power plants will be through NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), a trading subsidiary of
NTPC Limited. NVVN will directly purchase the solar power from the project developers as
per the norms and guidelines fixed in this regard.
8. 100 MW capacity of solar roof top and small grid connected solar power plants will be
connected to LT/11 KV grid of the distribution utility and the solar power will be directly
purchased by the distribution utilities as per the norms and guidelines fixed in this regard.
9. 200 MW equivalent capacity of off-grid solar applications, both solar thermal and
photovoltaic will be implemented through a combination of low interest bearing loans and /or
central financial assistance as per the norms and guidelines fixed in this regard.
10. In addition, the Mission will support various activities, as considered necessary, on R&D,
Human Resource Development, Technical Assistance, training, publicity and awareness etc.
for successful implementation of the Mission.

6.5 Way Ahead

Solar thermal power generation technology is coming back as commercially viable
technology in many parts of the world. India needs to take fresh initiative to assess the latest
technology and its feasibility in the Indian context. These projects can avail benefits like
CDM and considering the solar radiation levels in India the plants can be commercially
viable in near future. The MNRE and SEC (Solar Energy Center) should take initiative
tostudy these technologies and develop feasibility reports for suitable applications. Leading
research institutes such as TERI can take up these studies.