BUSY BUILDING SOLAR POWER PLANTS

Abengoa Solar Reaches Total of 193 Megawatts Operating
August 2, 2010 (Abengoa Solar)

"Abengoa Solar’s third parabolic trough solar power plant, Solnova 4 [in Seville, Spain], successfully passed its three day production and operation tests…[and went into commercial operation] days after receiving a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy for Abengoa Solar’s 280 MW plant in Arizona.

"…With the rollout of Solnova 4, Abengoa Solar has reached a total of 193 megawatts (MW) in commercial operation. Additionally, Abengoa Solar has 350 MW of solar energy currently under construction, as well as several thousand more being promoted in a variety of locations including plans for two new plants in the United States, Solana in Arizona and the Mojave Plant in California…Technologies developed and tested…in Spain will be utilized by the company in their projects in the United States."

Abengoa's Solnova 4 (click to enlarge)

"The Solnova 4 plant uses a [concentrating solar power (CSP) plant] parabolic trough technology developed by Abengoa Solar, that includes significant design enhancements…[The] ASTRO parabolic trough, for example, ensures far superior precision due to its…construction and alignment process…[as proven in] Solnova 1 and 3, the two parabolic trough plants that began operating commercially in May."

Abengoa's trough technology (click to enlarge)

"With its 50 MW of power, the new Solnova 4 solar station will generate enough clean energy to meet the electricity needs of 25,700 homes, while eliminating the emission of approximately 31,400 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. Abener and Teyma executed plant construction [in record time] through a turnkey supply contract…

"Solnova 4 consists of approximately 3,200,000 square feet of mirrors (300,000 square meters) that cover an area of about 280 acres (115 hectares). The plant’s technology concentrates solar radiation onto a heat-absorbing tube, inside of which circulates a fluid that reaches high temperatures. This liquid is utilized to generate water vapor that is transferred to a turbo-generator, where it expands to produce electricity…"