A peek into tomorrow's solar hybrid technology
While renewable energy sources like the sun hold great potential for the sustainable generation of electric power, they do not on their own provide a reliable supply. This issue was addressed by the EU-funded project HYSOL (Innovative configuration for a fully renewable hybrid CSP plant). Eight partners from four EU Member States joined their efforts to develop hybrid technologies that combine solar power and biogas in a flexible configuration to ensure reliable energy supply. The current generation of CSP plants depend entirely of the sun to provide electricity to the grid. HYSOL partners introduced a new hybrid system capable of recovering exhaust gases from an aeroderivative gas turbine. Energy from the gas turbine exhaust gases into the molten salts of the CSP storage system. The molten salts heated by the exhaust gases can be used to either generate steam directly or be stored for later use. One of HYSOL project’s results was to develop a heat exchanger to recover the turbine's exhaust gases to heat molten salts, thus increasing the plant's energy output. The level of demand for electricity is highly variable and, in some countries, it may peak at times when the solar resource is not available. HYSOL's main aim is to ensure a stable, firm energy supply independently of climate conditions and demand while maximising the solar contribution. As part of the scope of the project, a plant configuration was studied in five real locations and results show that at least 80 % of the energy produced came from solar radiation and, when using biogas, 100% of the energy produced came from renewable resources. This project offers a solid foundation for the future introduction of more renewable energy into the system, which can ensure reliable and competitive electricity generation. The HYSOL demonstrator was installed in the innovation cluster located near the existing ACS / Cobra power plant in Alcazar de San Juan, Spain. This first prototype has demonstrated that this new technology works and it has also established the value of hybrid CSP plants. A video is available that describes the research of the HYSOL project.
Keywords
Electricity grid, concentrated solar power plant, renewable energy sources, HYSOL, gas turbine
