A

Seminar report

On

SOLAR POWER TOWER

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

Of B. Tech. In Mechanical Engineering

Submitted By: Guided By:

Surbhi Chauhan Mr. Dharmanshu Singh Sodha

ID No. (14EEMME049) Assistant Professor

Submitted To:

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

GOVERNMENT WOMEN ENGINEERING COLLEGE

 Solar Power Tower

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Seminar entitled, Solar Power Tower is

submitted by Surbhi Chauhan ID No. 14ME49 in partial fulfilment of

the requirement of Seminar embodies the work done by her under my

supervision.

Signature of the Supervisor:

Name : Mr. Dharmanshu Singh Sodha

Designation : Assistant Prof.

Date : 26/04/2018

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my profound gratitude to my guide Mr. Dharmanshu Singh Sodha for
his invaluable support, encouragement, supervision and suggestions throughout this seminar work.
Under whose able guidance and support I‘ll be able to complete my seminar report. His moral
support and continuous guidance at each of time enabled me to complete my work successfully
and on time.

I would also like express my deep gratitude to our principal Prof. Ranjan Maheshwari and HOD,
Mechanical Engineering Department Dr. Jai Gopal Gupta for his continuous effort in creating
more competitive and knowledgeable environment in our college and encouragement by
organizing workshop and meetings time to time.

SURBHI CHAUHAN

(14EEMME049)

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Abstract
Aim: The solar power tower (also known as 'Central Tower' power plants or Heliostat power plants
or power towers) is a type of solar surface using a tower to receive the focused sunlight. It uses an
array of flat, moveable mirrors (called heliostats) to focus the sun's rays upon a collector tower
(the target). The high energy at this point of concentrated sunlight is transferred to a substance that
can store the heat for later use. The more recent heat transfer material that has been successfully
demonstrated is liquid Sodium. Sodium is a metal with a high heat capacity, allowing that energy
to be stored and drawn off throughout the evening. That energy can, in turn, be used to boil water
for use in steam turbines. Water had originally been used as a heat transfer medium in earlier power
tower versions (where the resultant steam was used to power turbine).

Surbhi Chauhan
14EEMME049

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TABLE OF CONTENT

Chapter No. Content Page No.

Certificate i

Acknowledgement ii

Abstract ii

Table of Content iv

Table of Table

Table of Figures

1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Definition 1

2 GLOBAL ISSUES 2

3 GOALS OF GREEN TECHNOLOGY 3

4 SOLAR POWER TOWER 4

5 MAJOR PARTS OF SOLAR POWER TOWER 6

5.1 Heliostat 6

5.2 Central receiver 7

5.3 Molten salt 9

5.4 Steam generator 10

6 WORKING OF SOLAR POWER TOWER 12

7 TYPES OF SOLAR POWER TOWER

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7.1 Solar one 14

7.2 Solar two 14

7.3 Solar three (Tres) 16

8 LAND REQUIREMENT 19

9 SYSTEM OVERVIEW, BENEFITS AND IMPACTS 20

10 POWER SENERIO IN INDIA 23

11 CASE STUDY 24

11.1 Introduction 24
11.2 PS10 24
11.3 PS20 25
11.4 Conclusion 25

11 CONCLUSION 26

12 REFFERENCES 27

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure No. Figure Name Page No.
1 SOLAR TOWER 4
2 HELIOSTATS 6
3 CENTRAL RECEIVER 8
4 MOLTEN SALT SYSTEM 9
5 WORKING OF SOLAR POWER TOWER 13

6 TRES SOLAR TOWER 17

7 LAND 19

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LIST OF TABLES
Table No. Table Name Page No.
1 STEAM GENERATOR OR TURBINE 11
2 LAND REQUIREMENT 19

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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

This report represents study of solar power tower in order to update the technical and economic
status of molten salt solar power tower. First an outline of the Solar Tower (ST) technology and
the different components that make up a tower plant, namely, the heliostats, receivers, Heat
Transfer Fluid (HTF), and power cycles employed, is discussed. Engineering Economic Policy
Assessment of Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Technologies for India”. A brief idea was given
about the ST technology, its components, and as well as a techno economic viability study of ST
technology in India. The receiver (which is located at the top of the tower) is one of the most
crucial components of a power plant. The type of receiver used will be the key to deciding many
parameter which are chosen while modelling a plant, for example, the type of heliostat field, its
layout, the heat transfer fluid to be used etc. Therefore, an assessment of existing power plants is
made depending upon the type of receiver being used.

The conclusion discusses the challenges and opportunities with respect to this technology in the
Indian scenario. The global review on ST technology is carried out in this study to provide a bench
mark for the design studies under Indian conditions.

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Chapter 2

GLOBAL ISSUES

In the past century, it has been seen that the consumption of non-renewable sources of energy
has caused more environmental damage than any other human activity. Electricity generated
from fossil fuels such as coal and crude oil has led to high concentrations of harmful gases in
the atmosphere. This has in turn led to many problems being faced today such as ozone
depletion and global warming. Vehicular pollution has also been a major problem. Therefore,
alternative sources of energy have become very important and relevant to today’s world. These
sources, such as the sun and wind, can never be exhausted and therefore are called renewable.
Their use can, to a large extent, reduce chemical, radioactive, and thermal pollution. They
stand out as a viable source of clean and limitless energy. These are also known as non-
conventional sources of energy. Most of the renewable sources of energy are fairly non-
polluting and considered clean though biomass, a renewable source, is a major polluter
indoors. Renewable energy sources include the sun, wind, water, agricultural residue, fuel
wood, and animal dung. Fossil fuels are non-renewable sources. Energy generated from the
sun is known as solar energy. The United Nations Energy Organization tags fossil fuels as
elementary energy/conventional energy. Electricity is merely a secondary energy derived from
these sources. At present the energy consumed all over the world relies mainly on five main
energy sources like coal, petroleum, natural gas, water and nuclear energy. The consumption
of petroleum constitutes approximately 60% of energy used from all sources. Statistics show
that daily consumption of petroleum is 40 million barrels of which 50% is for automobile use.
In accordance with this calculation, as fuels are burnt poisonous materials such as 500 million
tons of carbon monoxide, 100 million tons of hydrocarbons, 550 million tons of carbon and
50 million tons of nitrogen oxides are emitted into atmosphere every year causing Green House
Effect. The problems mentioned earlier can be addressed by implementing sustainable sources
of energy. Sustainable energy sources are most often regarded as including all renewable
energy sources like solar power, wind power, biofuels, wave energy, tidal energy and
geothermal energy.

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Chapter 3

GOALS OF GREEN TECHNOLOGY

Green technology is the future of society. The main purpose is to find a way to create technology
that does not destroy or reduce Earth's natural resources. In addition to the lack of natural resources,
green technology is an alternative source of technology that reduces fossil fuels and less damage
to human, animal and plant health and generally causes damage to the world. So the green
technology is such that the products can be recycled and recycled. The use of green technology
(clean technology) aims at reducing waste and pollution from production and consumption. The
most important and pressing concern and the need for green technology is energy. We need to
produce energy more efficiently and efficiently without burning all the coal and using all fossil
fuels and natural resources in the world. In addition to other forms of green technology, it has been
realized that solar energy in the field of energy has no detrimental effect on the earth and it will
not replenish and solar energy can be transformed directly with electricity so that future
generations can also benefited.

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Chapter 4

SOLAR TOWER

Fig:-1 Solar tower

Solar power towers also known as Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Towers generate electric
power from sunlight by focusing concentrated solar radiation on tower mounted heat exchangers.
The system uses hundreds to thousands of sun-tracking mirrors called heliostats to reflect the
incident sunlight onto the receiver. These plants are best suited for utility-scale applications in the
30 to 400 MW range. The limited supply of fossil hydrocarbon resources and the negative impact
of CO2 emissions on the global environment dictate the increasing usage of renewable energy
sources. Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) is the most likely candidate for providing the majority
of this renewable energy, because it is amongst the most cost-effective renewable electricity
technologies and because its supply is not restricted if the energy generated is transported from the
world's solar belt to the population centres.

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In power tower systems, heliostats (A Heliostat is a device that tracks the movement of the sun
which is used to orient a mirror of field of mirrors, throughout the day, to reflect sunlight onto a
target-receiver) reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a central tower-mounted receiver where the
energy is transferred to a HTF. This energy is then passed either to the storage or to power-
conversion systems, which convert the thermal energy into electricity. Heliostat field, the heliostat
controls, the receiver, the storage system, and the heat engine, which drives the generator, are the
major components of the system. For a large heliostat field, a cylindrical receiver has advantages
when used with Rankine cycle engines, particularly for radiation from heliostats at the far edges
of the field. Cavity receivers with larger tower height to heliostat field area ratios are used for
higher temperatures required for the operation of turbines. These plants are defined by the options
chosen for a HTF, for the thermal storage medium and for the power-conversion cycle. HTF may
be water/steam, molten nitrate salt, liquid metals or air and the thermal storage may be provided
by PCM (phase change materials) or thermally insulating materials. Power tower systems usually
o
achieves concentration ratios of 300–1500, can operate at temperatures up to 1500 C.
To maintain constant steam parameters even at varying solar irradiation, two methods can be used:
 Integration of a fossil back-up burner.
 Utilization of a thermal storage as a buffer.
By the use of thermal storage, the heat can be stored for few hours to allow electricity production
during periods of peak need, even if the solar radiation is not available.
Examples of heliostat based power plants:
 The 10 MWe Solar One and Solar Two demonstration projects in the Mojave Desert, which
have now been decommissioned.
 The above 10 MW Solar Tres Power Tower in Spain builds on these projects. In Spain the
11 MW PS10 Solar Power Tower was recently completed.
 In South Africa, a solar power plant is planned with 4000 to 5000 heliostat mirrors, each
having an area of 140 m².

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Chapter 5

Major parts of solar tower

1. Heliostats
2. Central Receiver
3. Molten Salt
4. Steam Generator

5.1 Heliostats:

Fig:-2 Heliostats

Heliostats are reflective surfaces or mirrors which track the sun’s rays and reflect it onto the central
receiver. Relatively few heliostats have been manufactured to date, and their cost is high
(>$250/m2). As the demand for solar power increases, heliostat mass production methods will be
developed that will significantly reduce their cost.

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Research is currently being conducted under the Solar Manufacturing Technology (Sol Mat)
Initiative to develop low-cost manufacturing techniques for early commercial low volume builds.
Prices are a strong function of annual production rate.

Since the heliostat field represents the largest single capital investment in a power tower plant,
advancements in technology are needed to improve the ability to manufacture, reduce costs, and
increase the service life of heliostats.
In particular, a lower cost azimuth drive system is needed (i.e., to rotate the heliostat around an
axis that is perpendicular to the ground).

Recent Developments in Heliostat designs:

The modern R&D efforts have focused on polymer reflectors and stretched-membrane heliostats.
A stretched-membrane heliostat consists of a metal ring, across which two thin metal membranes
are stretched. A focus control system adjusts the curvature of the front membrane, which is
laminated with a silvered-polymer reflector, usually by adjusting the pressure in the plenum
between the two membranes.

5.2 Central Receiver:

Central receiver (or power tower) systems use a field of distributed mirrors heliostats that
individually track the sun and focus the sunlight on the top of a tower. By concentrating the
sunlight 600 –1000 times, they achieve temperatures from 800°C to well over 1000°C.

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Fig:-3Central receiver

The central receiver is also called high-tech heat exchanger which sits top a tower. The
central receiver heats molten salt at around 250°C, pumped from a “cold” storage tank, to
565°C, where it flows to a “hot” tank for storage. When the grid load dispatcher decides
electricity is needed from the plant, hot salt is pumped to a steam generating system that
produces superheated steam for a turbine/generator. The salt then is returned to the cold tank,
where it is stored and eventually reheated in the receiver to complete the cycle. Smaller,
simpler receivers are needed to improve efficiency and reduce maintenance. Advanced
receiver development currently underway, under the SolMaT Initiative, includes consideration
of new steel alloys for the receiver tubes and ease of manufacture for the entire receiver
subsystem. Panels of these new receiver designs were initially tested at Solar Two.

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5.3 Molten Salt:

Fig:-4(MOLTEN SALT STORAGE SYSTEM)

Molten nitrate salt, though an excellent thermal storage medium, can be a troublesome fluid to
deal with because of its relatively high freezing point (220oC/428ºF). To keep the salt molten, a
fairly complex heat trace system must be employed. (Heat tracing is composed of electric wires
attached to the outside surface of pipes. Pipes are kept warm by way of resistance heating.)
Problems were experienced during the startup of Solar Two due to the improper installation of the
heat trace. Though this problem has been addressed and corrected, research is needed reduce the
reliance on heat tracing in the plant.

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This could be accomplished by one or more of the following options:

 Develop a salt “anti-freeze” to lower the freezing point,
 Identify or develop components that can be “cold started”
 Without reapplication of the heat trace, or
 Develop thermal management practices that are less reliant on heat trace.
Within the Solar Two project, the third option will be explored. If it is unsuccessful, the other two
options should be pursued. Also, valves can be troublesome in molten-salt service. Special
packings must be used, oftentimes with extended bonnets, and leaks are not uncommon.
Furthermore, freezing in the valve or packing can prevent it from operating correctly. While
today’s valve technology is adequate for molten-salt power towers, design improvements and
standardization would reduce risk and ultimately reduce O&M costs.
The salt storage medium is a mixture of 60 percent sodium nitrate and 40 percent potassium nitrate.
It melts at 220ºC(428ºF) and is maintained in a molten state (290ºC/554ºF) in the ‘cold’ storage
tank. Molten salt can be difficult to handle because it has a low viscosity (similar to water) and it
wets metal surfaces extremely well.
The energy storage system for Solar Two consists of two 875,000 liter storage tanks which were
fabricated on-site by Pitt-Des Moines. The tanks are externally insulated and constructed of
stainless steel and carbon steel for the hot and cold tanks, respectively. Thermal capacity of the
system is 110 MWh . A natural convection cooling system is used in the foundation of each tank
to minimize overheating and excessive dehydration of the underlying soil.

5.4 Steam Generator or turbines:

The steam generator design selected for the Solar Two project is completely different than the
prototype tested at Sandia Laboratories during the technology development activity of the 1980’s
for Solar One because of change in heat transfer fluid. The recirculating-drum-type system tested
at Sandia performed well.
However, at Solar Two, a kettle-boiler design was selected in an attempt to reduce cost.
Significant problems have been encountered with this new system during the startup phase at Solar
Two, requiring a redesign in many areas. Depending on the success of implementing the design
changes, it was considered appropriate to reevaluate the optimum steam generator design before

proceeding to the first commercial plant.

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Table-1 steam generator or turbine

SOLAR TOWERS YEAR OF COMISSION

Solar One 1982-1988

Solar Two 1996

Tres Solar Towers PS10 - 2006

PS20 - 2009

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Chapter 6

WORKING OF SOLAR TOWER

Solar power towers consist of a large field of sun-tracking mirrors, called heliostats, which focus
solar energy on a receiver atop a centrally located tower. The enormous amount of energy, coming
out of the sun rays, concentrated at one point (the tower in the middle), produces temperatures of
approx. 550°C to 1500°C. The gained thermal energy can be used for heating water or molten salt,
which saves the energy for later use. Heated water gets to steam, which is used to move the turbine-
generator. This way thermal energy is converted into electricity. As already mentioned there are
two main fluids which are used for the heat transfer, water and molten salt. Water for example is
the oldest and simplest way for heat transfer. But the difference is that the method in which molten
salt is used, allows storing the heat for the terms when the sun is behind clouds or even at night.
Molten salt - better: the heat of it - can be used until the next dawn when the sun will be back to
heat the cooled down salt again.

The molten salt consists of 60% sodium nitrate a 40% potassium nitrate (saltpeter). The salt melts
at about 700°C and is liquid at approx. 1000°C; it will be kept in an insulated storage tank until
the time, when it will be needed for heating up the water in the steam generator. His way of energy
storage has an efficiency of approx. 99%, i.e. due to the imperfect insulation 1% of the stored
energy gets lost.

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Fig:- 5 Working of solar power tower

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Chapter 7

Types of Solar Power Tower

7.1 SOLAR ONE:

Solar One, which operated from 1982 to 1988, was the world’s largest power tower plant. It
proved that large-scale power production with power towers was feasible. In that plant, water was
converted to steam in the receiver and used directly to power a conventional Rankine-cycle steam
turbine. The heliostat field consisted of 1818 heliostats of 39.3 m2 reflective area each. The project
met most of its technical objectives by demonstrating -
 The feasibility of generating power with a power tower,
 the ability to generate 10 MW for eight hours a day on summer solstice and four hours a
day during winter solstice.
During its final year of operation, Solar One’s availability during hours of sunshine was 96% and
its annual efficiency was about 7%. (Annual efficiency was relatively low because of the plant’s
small size and the inclusion of non-optimized subsystems.)The Solar One thermal storage system
stored heat from solar-produced steam in a tank filled with rocks and sand using oil as the heat-
transfer fluid. The system extended the plant’s power-generation capability into the night and
provided heat for generating low-grade steam for keeping parts of the plant warm during off-hours
and for morning startup. Unfortunately, the storage system was complex and thermodynamically
inefficient. While Solar One successfully demonstrated power tower technology, it also revealed
the disadvantages of a water/steam system, such as the intermittent operation of the turbine due to
cloud transience and lack of effective thermal storage. During the operation of Solar One, research
began on the more advanced molten-salt power tower design. This development culminated in the
Solar Two project.

7.2 SOLAR TWO:

To encourage the development of molten-salt power towers, a consortium of utilities led by
Southern California Edison joined with the U.S. Department of Energy to redesign the Solar One
plant to include a molten-salt heat-transfer system. The goals of the redesigned plant, called Solar
Two, are to validate nitrate salt technology, to reduce the technical and economic risk of power
towers, and to stimulate the commercialization of power tower technology. Solar one has produced

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10 MW of electricity with enough thermal storage to continue to operate the turbine at full capacity
for three hours after the sun has set. Long-term reliability was next to be proven. The conversion
of Solar One to Solar Two required a new molten-salt heat transfer system (including the receiver,
thermal storage, piping, and a steam generator) and a new control system. The Solar One heliostat
field, the tower, and the turbine/generator required only minimal modifications. Solar Two was
first attached to a utility grid in early 1996 and was scheduled to complete its startup phase in late
1997.
Solar Two construction and Design:
The panels form a cylindrical shell surrounding piping, structural supports, and control equipment.
The external surfaces of the tubes are coated with a black Pyromark™ paint that is robust, resistant
to high temperatures and thermal cycling, and absorbs 95% of the incident sunlight. The receiver
design has been optimized to absorb a maximum amount of solar energy while reducing the heat
losses due to convection and radiation.The design, which includes laser-welding, sophisticated
tube-nozzle-header connections, a tube clip design that facilitates tube expansion and contraction,
and non-contact flux measurement devices, allows the receiver to rapidly change temperature
without being damaged. For example, during a cloud passage, the receiver can safely change from
290 to 570ºC (554 to 1,058ºF) in less than one minute. The salt storage medium is a mixture of 60
percent sodium nitrate and 40 percent potassium nitrate. It melts at 220ºC(428ºF) and is maintained
in a molten state (290ºC/554ºF) in the ‘cold’ storage tank. Molten salt can be difficult to handle
because it has a low viscosity (similar to water) and it wets metal surfaces extremely well.
Consequently, it can be difficult to contain and transport. An important consideration in
successfully implementing this technology is the identification of pumps, valves, valve packing,
and gasket materials that will work with molten salt. Accordingly, Solar Two is designed with a
minimum number of gasketed flanges and most instrument transducers, valves, and fittings are
welded in place. All pipes, valves, and vessels for hot salt were constructed from stainless steel
because of its corrosion resistance in the molten-salt environment. The cold-salt system is made
from mild carbon steel. The steam generator system (SGS) heat exchangers, which were
constructed by ABB Lummus, consist of a shell-and-tube superheater, a kettle boiler, and a shell-
and-tube preheater.

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Solar Two storage systems:

The energy storage system for Solar Two consists of two 875,000 liter storage tanks which were
fabricated on-site by Pitt-Des Moines. The tanks are externally insulated and constructed of
stainless steel and carbon steel for the hot and cold tanks, respectively. Thermal capacity of the
system is 110 MWh . A natural convection cooling system is used in the foundation of each tank
to minimize overheating and excessive dehydration of the underlying soil. Stainless steel cantilever
pumps transport salt from the hot-tank-pump sump through the SGS to the cold tank. Salt in the
cold tank is pumped with multi-stage centrifugal pumps up the tower to the receiver.

7.3 Three Solar Tower:

These are the latest and technologically advanced solar towers with advanced designs built for
commercial purpose generating more than 10 MW power. These were first built in Seville, Spain
and named PS10 which produce around 11MW of power. After the success of this design, a new
and larger tower double the size of PS10 was constructed which was completed on 27 April, 2009
which is a part of 300MW power project slated to be completed by 2013. Its 16-hour molten-salt
storage system will be able to deliver power around the clock. Costing around €1,200m, the whole
plant will be completed by 2013, when it will produce around 300MW energy for around 180,000
homes, equivalent to the needs of the city of Seville. This will then prevent emissions of more than
600,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere per year over its 25-year life. The platform will create
more than 1,000 jobs in the manufacturing and construction phase, and 300 service and
maintenance jobs.
Construction completed
 PS10 was completed at the end of 2006.
 Work commenced on PS20 during the second half of 2006.
Start of Operation
 March 2007 for PS10
 April 27,2009 for PS20

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Fig:-6 Tres Solar tower

Location:-Near Seville, Spain.

Estimated Investment:-Around €1,200m for 300MW power plant.

PS10:-The Solar Platform at Seville has been constructed by Secular, using a range of solar
technologies. The first solar power plant to be brought into operation was the PS10, the world's
first commercial solar tower. The 11MW PS10 solar power plant generates 24.3GW/hr per year of
clean energy. It has 624 heliostats that track the sun, each with a 120m² surface area parabolic
mirror. The mirrors are focused on a 115m tower, heating water pipes that provide 200m² of water-
cooled energy exchange surface area. The thermal energy produces steam, which drives a turbine
to generate electricity. During the day the power drives the air conditioners that cool buildings in
Seville. Heat is also stored as steam to allow generation at half load for an hour or longer after
dark. This is a relatively short storage time, partially because the tower uses water rather than
molten salt for heat storage. The water is held in thermally clad tanks and reaches temperatures of

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250°C – 255°C (instead of around 600°C for systems using salt). Solucar has opted for water to
reduce fatigue on the system components and to ensure simplicity and robustness for the project.
PS20:-PS20 has twice the PS10 output (20MW), with 1,255 two-axis sun tracking heliostats
driving 120m² mirrors. These mirrors concentrate solar radiation onto the receiver on top of a
165mtower. The tower follows the same technology as that of PS10 for electricity generation.PS20
represents second generation technology with important improvements to receiver and other
critical elements. Features include control and operational systems enhancements, improved
thermal energy storage system and a higher efficiency receiver. The tower can power about 10,000
homes and reduce 12,000 tons of CO2 emissions in comparison with conventional power plants.

The plant has been designed by Abeona Solar and Abider Energeia was the contractor.

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Chapter 8
Land Requirement
The following table shows the total surface needed to construct an installation. Besides area data
needed (acres - hectares), width (x en feet) and length (y in feet) of the rectangular area.

Fig:-7 land

Table-2 Land requirement

20 MW Basic Tower

235 acres
Land requirement y=10,826.77 ft
x=3100 ft

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Chapter 9
System Overview, Benefits, and Impacts
System Overview:
New peaking and intermediate power sources are needed today in many areas of the developing
world. India, Egypt, and South Africa are locations that appear to be ideally suited for power tower
development. As the technology matures, plants with up to a 400 MW rating appear feasible. As
non-polluting energy sources become more favored, molten-salt power towers will have a high
value because the thermal energy storage allows the plant to be dispatch able. Consequently, the
value of power is worth more because a power tower plant can deliver energy during peak load
times when it is more valuable. Energy storage also allows power tower plants to be designed and
built with a range of annual capacity factors (20 to 65%). Combining high capacity factors and the
fact that energy storage will allow power to be brought onto the grid in a controlled manner (i.e.,
by reducing electrical transients thus increasing the stability of the overall utility grid), total market
penetration is also much higher than an intermittent solar technology without storage or the use of
solar panels.
Benefits of Solar Power Towers:
 Solar thermal power plants designed for solar-only generation are ideally matched to
summer noon peak loads in prosperous areas with significant cooling demands, such as
Spain or the south-western United States.
 Thermal-energy storage in the power tower allows electricity to be dispatched to the grid
when demand for power is the highest, thus increasing the monetary value of the electricity.
Much like hydro plants, power towers with salt storage are considered to be a dispatch able
rather than an intermittent renewable energy power plant.
 Besides making the power dispatch able, thermal storage also gives the power-plant
designer freedom to develop power plants with a wide range of capacity factors to meet
the needs of the utility grid. By varying the size of the solar field, solar receiver, and size
of the thermal storage, plants can be designed with annual capacity factors ranging between
20 and 65%.
 Economic studies have shown that levelized energy costs (LEC) are reduced by adding
more storage up to a limit of about 13hours (~65% capacity factor). While it is true that

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storage increases the cost of the plant, it is also true that plants with higher capacity factors
have better economic utilization of the turbine, and other balance of plant equipment.
 Since salt storage is inexpensive, reductions in LEC due to increased utilization of the
turbine more than compensates for the increased cost due to the addition of storage.
To increase capacity factor for a given turbine size, the designer would
(1) Increase the number of heliostats,
(2) Enlarge the thermal storage tanks,
(3) Raise the tower, and
(4) Increase the receiver dimensions.
Using thermal energy storage systems like the salt storage systems used in Solar Towers of Spain,
solar thermal operating periods can even be extended to meet base-load needs or even during night.
Wherever there is high direct radiation from the sun, there are opportunities for solar thermal power
generation especially the barren lands in deserts across the world. In many regions of the world,
just one square kilometre of land can generate as much as 100-130 gigawatt hours (GWh) of
electricity per year from solar thermal technology. This is as much electricity as we would expect
from a 50 MW conventional coal- or gas-fired mid-load power plant, and enough to keep the lights
on in a town of 25,000 inhabitants in western continental Europe. Over the total life cycle of a
solar thermal power system, output would be equivalent to energy contained in more than 5 million
barrels of oil.
Impacts:
 No hazardous gaseous or liquid emissions are released during operation of the solar power
tower plant. If a salt spill occurs, the salt will freeze before significant contamination of
the soil occurs.
 Then the Salt is picked up with a shovel and can be recycled if necessary.
 If the power tower is hybridized with a conventional fossil plant like the use of additional
gas turbines, emissions will be released from the non-solar portion of the plant.
 One possible concern with the technology is the relatively high amount of land and water
usage. This may become an important issue from a practical and environmental viewpoint
since these plants are typically deployed within desert areas that often lack water and have
fragile landscapes.

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 Water usage at power towers is comparable to other Rankine cycle power technologies of
similar size and annual performance and hence no much wastage as the water is
recirculated.
 Land usage, although significant, is typically much less than that required for hydro and is
generally less than that required for fossil (e.g., oil, coal, natural gas), when the mining and
exploration of land are included.

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Chapter 10
Indian Power Scenario

India ranks sixth in the world in total energy consumption. India has increased the installed
capacity from 1362 MW 112058mw since independence. The achievement may be impressive but
not sufficient. As many as 80000 villages are yet to be electrified and suffers power shortage of
12.3%.The annual per capita consumption of 580KWh is amongst the lowest in the world. If the
vast expanse of the Thar Desert in North-western India was harnessed to produce solar energy, it
could light up five of Asia's most populated cities. Scientists say the endless sands of Rajasthan
State could well earn the distinction of being the "biggest" solar powerhouse producing 10,000
MW of electricity. The Rajasthan Energy Development Agency (REDA) has started the spadework
on an ambitious project. "A major chunk of the desert, about 13,500 square miles, will be declared
a Solar Energy Enterprise Zone like the one in Nevada (in the United States)", says director Probate
Dayal. He thinks that if the state were to install solar collectors in just one Percent of its desert,
which stretches over 77,200 square miles, "we could generate 6,000 megawatts of electricity".
Bottlenecks and Constraints in India:
 Renewable Energy Technologies are capital intensive and require high initial investment
which investors could not mobilize in the absence of financial support including capital
subsidy from the Central Government/ State Government.
 The power purchase policy has not been encouraging for private entrepreneurs and suitable
policy initiatives in the form of wheeling, and banking facilities, evacuation, arrangements,
land allotment etc., need to be considered to boost investment.
 Technologies for several renewable energy sources have not fully stabilized which has
hampered the development and hence more intensive R&D efforts are called for with
special focus on partnership with industry.
 Fiscal incentives namely 100% depreciation attracted several private investors. But it has
been diluted to a considerable extent by the imposition of Minimum Alternative Tax.

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Chapter 11
Case Study
11.1 Spanish Solar Power
11.1.1 Introduction

The southern coast of Spain is a sun-drenched tourist attraction. Spain has recognized that this
natural resource can also be used to provide energy for itself and the members of the European
Union. Consequently, Spain has placed a premium on solar power.

According to Solar PACES, an international organization that coordinates solar power projects
under the auspices of the International Energy Agency, Spain first created a solar power
premium payment in 2002. This premium is designed to encourage utilities to adopt solar power
by granting a government subsidy for solar-generated electricity. The premium has been
increased from its original level and has led to large investment in solar technology.

11.2 PS10
PS10 is a solar power tower plant near Seville, Spain, that has a capacity of 11 MW and is
considered the first commercially viable solar power tower plant. Adjacent to PS10 is PS20, a solar
power tower plant built after PS10 was completed. PS20 had a capacity of 20 MW and was the
largest solar power tower plant in the world when it was completed. PS10 and PS20 are both
projects of Abengoa Solar, Spanish company that operates many of the solar power plants in Spain
[Abengoa Solar, 2009].

11.3 PS20
Abengoa is constructing a series of connected solar power plants in the Seville area in a project
called the Solucar Platform. Along with the PS10 and PS20 plants, three solar trough plants with
50 MW capacity each have already been completed with more solar trough plants planned. In
addition, an 80 MW plant is planned in the form of a concentrating solar power (CSP) plant using
dish technology. The entire project is expected to be completed by 2013. An image of the area
from orbit. Costing around €1,200m, the whole plant will be completed by 2013, when it will

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produce around 300MW – energy for around 180,000 homes, equivalent to the needs of the city
of Seville. [Abengoa Solar, 2009].

11.4 Conclusion
Spain is also developing a solar power tower plant called Solar Tres that will seek to use molten
nitrate salt as the heat transfer fluid following the successful implementation of Solar Two in the
United States. Located near Aldalusia, Spain, Solar Tres has a capacity of 17 MW and is designed
to operate around the clock during the summer using molten salts for an energy storage system.
A futuristic-looking 11MW solar tower has been completed near Seville, Spain as part of a 300MW
solar power project. [Solar Spaces, 2009]

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Chapter 12
CONCLUSION
As seen from the existing plants, most of the tower plants are employing either the external
cylindrical or the cavity type receiver. By using molten salt one can achieve high temperatures
along with thermal storage for a long duration. The main advantage of using molten salt is that it
can be used both as the HTF as well as the storage medium. India has indigenous manufacturers
of components such as mirror, support structure and power block components. However, as
pointed out earlier, the experience in designing and manufacturing of receivers is limited.
Therefore, given the considerations mentioned above, the system configuration that could be ideal
for Indian conditions are:
 Molten salt as HTF and storage medium.
 Thermal storage for utility scale plants, as it can provide reliable and dispatch able power
and further help in meeting the peak-time demands.
 It would require more R&D.

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REFERENCES
[1] Thirumalai N C, “Global Review of Solar Tower Technology”, August 2014.
[2] Prof. Chandan Kumar, Gaurav Kumawat, “Solar Power Tower”, March 2013.
[3] Nikhil Hedge, “Solar Power Tower”, April 2016.
[4] Sandia National Laboratory > National Solar Thermal Test Facility > Central Receiver Test
Facility > Heliostats and tower capabilities.
[5] Gregory J. Kolb, Clifford K. Ho, Thomas R. Mancini, and Jesse A. Gary. Power Tower
Technology Roadmap and Cost Reduction Plan. s.l. SNL, 2011.
[6] Robert Pitz-Paal, Jurgen Drench, Barbara Milow. European Concentrated Solar Thermal Road
Mapping. s.l.: DLR, 2004.
[7] MNRE. [Online] 2014. http://mnre.gov.in/centers/about-sec-2/new-initiatives/.
[8] Waste Land Atlas of India. s.l.: Ministry of Rural Development, 2010.
[9] Renewable Energy Headlines. [Online]
[10]http://www.renewableenergyheadlines.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=273
tota l-grid-connected-solar-capacity-stood-at-2-632-mw-as-on-march-31-2014&Itemid=103.
[11] MNRE-JNNSM policy document Draft Guidelines. 2012.
[12] Concentrating solar power projects 2014.http://www.nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/by_project.
[13] An Update on Solar Central Receiver Systems, Projects and Technologies. Manuel Romero,
Reiner Buck, James E. Pacheco. s.l.: ASME, 2002.
[14] M A Ramaswamy, V S Chandrasekaran, R Krishnan N C Thirumalai, N S Suresh, Badri S
Rao, Smita Kumari Dolly, V Chaitanya Kanth, V Arum Kumar. Engineering Economic Policy
Assessment of Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Technolonies for India (CSTEP/E/7).
Banaglore: CSTEP, 2012.
[15] Korzynietz, Roman. SOLUGAS – FUTURE SOLAR HYBRID TECHNOLOGY.

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Government Women Engineering College Ajmer

Mechanical Engineering Department

Name of student : _______________________

ID No. : _______________________
Title of Project/seminar: _______________________
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Note: Supervisor may decide to keep this sheet with him or with the Department/Division office (in
consultation with the in-charge and ask the student to sign on each working day before a particular
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