According to the construction and workshop drawings, the assembly jig and half a solar collector assembly (drive pylon with six collector elements strong type) have been manufactured. The six collectors have been assembled over the designed jig in order to get the required accuracy of the mirror supports.
The solar collector assemblies have been erected with the six collectors elements to one side of the drive pylon (half a SCA 150 m) in order to test the torsion and bending of the structure during operation and the influence on the optical performance. The collector has been set-up in east-west direction at PSA, Almería, Spain. It is a steel structure with curved glass mirrors, hydraulic drive for one-axis tracking, and vacuum absorber tubes. The series product that it represents is able to heat thermal oil or process steam for solar electricity generation, water desalination or solar process heat applications in medium to large-scale applications. The industrial design and the prototype manufacturing have been terminated and evaluated.
The results are available (license) through the project consortium partners. Applications are now under preparation in southern Europe, Morocco, Egypt and India with participation of project partners, utilities, power companies and manufacturers.