The first 30 months of the project were mainly focused on i) the basic and detailed engineering activities for the complete plant, ii) the preparation of the administrative and technical documentation needed for the achievement of all required authorization by local authorities for plant construction and operation, and iii) the construction activities planning.
During the first 18 months of the project development, to proper carry out the design of the precommercial plant solar tower particle-based plant a clear identification of single plant component with relevant definition of the battery limits has been performed. The basic engineering design has been carried out around the overall system including the heliostat solar field, the receiver, the back up system (gas heater and electrical heater) the hot and cold storage, the steam generator, the tower layout, the solid particle transport system as well as the balance of the plant properly design to deliver solar heat to Barilla facility. All basic engineering design has been completed with definition of process conditions along the overall process scheme and preparation of the Basis of Design, Process Flow Diagram, Heat & Material Balance, equipment summary, data sheet and duty spec of main item and plant layout and elevation.
During the further 12 months, all the authorization paths for plant construction and operation in the Municipacility of Foggia, at Barilla site, have been finally started and most of them achieved. The detailed engineering design of the complete solar plant have been also continued and can be considered almost completed (HAZOP session carried out, manufacturing drawings nearly finished). Great efforts have been also dedicated to the construction activities planning of both solar field and solar tower. The construction of a demo plant with 5 prototype heliostats to check mirror quality, equipment performance, and relevant control system, to be further validated by a third party, has been finalized and tests are in progress.
