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Solar Power Plant Incorporates Fossil Fuel Backup
· Confirmed
In Short: A new solar power plant, designed to be extremely small at 1 megawatt, incorporates both photovoltaic and concentrated solar thermal technologies, with a unique twist: it includes a fossil fuel backup system.
A new solar power plant, designed to be extremely small at 1 megawatt, incorporates both photovoltaic and concentrated solar thermal technologies, with a unique twist: it includes a fossil fuel backup system.
The plant, developed by a company that remains unnamed in the facts, uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight and generate heat, which can then be used to power a traditional steam turbine or stored for overnight use.
According to Ars Technica, the plant's design allows it to run on either stored solar heat or combustion, with the fossil-fueled backup system sharing most of the generating hardware with the solar side.
The backup system can be activated during times of low solar resource, such as long-duration bad weather, to ensure continuous power generation.
"During times of low solar resource—long duration, bad weather, whatever the case may be—they’re able to burn a variety of fuels," said a source quoted in Ars Technica.
The plant's unique angle is that the same hardware that handles solar thermal output can simply be run using fossil fuels if there is a significant shortfall in renewable generation.
The hot fluid generated by the concentrated solar system can be used to power a traditional steam turbine, or its heat can be stored and used to generate power overnight.
While the plant will be extremely small at 1 megawatt, it represents a significant innovation in the field of solar power generation.
"Any of a variety of fuels can be burned to provide the equivalent heat. von Keszycki suggested that adding the capability to the system to burn fossil fuels tacks on less than 10 percent of its total cost," according to Ars Technica.
What this adds
This report adds details about the plant's design and operational flexibility, including the ability to switch between solar and fossil fuel power generation.
The BACKGROUND lines confirm the plant's unique feature of incorporating both photovoltaic and concentrated solar thermal technologies with a fossil fuel backup system.
Background
The plant, which will be extremely small at 1 megawatt, mixes in photovoltaics and is designed so that a fossil-fueled backup system shares most of the generating hardware with the solar side.
A new solar power plant, designed to be extremely small at 1 megawatt, incorporates both photovoltaic and concentrated solar thermal technologies, with a unique twist: it includes a fossil fuel backup system.
What's confirmed
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What's still developing
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