EIB supports Spanish solar thermal power plant
The first large-scale commercial solar thermal power plant in Europe is to be built in southern Spain with funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The plant will have a net capacity of 50 MWe, and will test a new high temperature thermal storage system, involving molten salt, to extend daily electricity generation to over 12 hours in winter and up to 20 hours in summer. The plant is designed to deliver electricity continuously to the grid when in operation. Initial support from the EIB will come to €60 million. The site, around 60 km from Granada, will host 624 collectors. The collectors will magnify the solar radiation around 80-fold and direct it onto absorber tubes installed in the collecting tower, along the focal line. An absorber tube is a stainless steel pipe with a coating, surrounded by a glass envelope tube to reduce thermal loss. A heat transfer fluid with a temperature of almost 400 degrees centigrade circulates through the absorber tubes. Generating power from the sun has clear advantages. Solar thermal power plants could replace fossil fuel-fired plants, which generate emissions harmful to the environment. The plant therefore not only contribute to the EU's goal of increasing renewable energy technologies, but also help Spain to meet its objective of developing 200 MWe of solar thermal generation capacity. A statement from the EIB explains why the project will receive EU funding: 'It contributes to the deployment and industrialisation of new technology, thereby reducing the costs of future applications with the aim of achieving competitiveness with established technology over its lifetime. It incorporates EU innovative elements on technology developed in the USA to raise energy conversion and operating efficiency and to reduce costs. Immediate social benefits include some 45 permanent new jobs and about 1,000 staff years of temporary jobs during construction' AndaSol-1 Central Termosolar Uno, a purpose-created company, will receive 75 per cent of the funding, with remainder going to Solar Millennium.
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