Solar Thermal Group Department Of Engineering Solar Thermal Group Department Of Engineering and...

Solar Thermal GroupDepartment Of Engineering


and beyond!

Concentrated Solar Power:

to


OverviewJeff• Solar-thermal basics• The new Big Dish! **Now Even Bigger!**• Some research

Rebecca• Solar-thermal power in Las Vegas• Ammonia storage• Some more research


Concentrated Solar Power – The Basics

•Parabolic-shaped mirror

•Receiver at focal point

•Solar Radiation heats fluid medium or drives chemical reaction


Why Solar Thermal?

• Solar Thermal arrays as ‘baseload’ power stations

• Transition to renewables via add-on to existing plants

• Large-scale energy storage!


The old dish looks like this


Sorry, commercial in confidence ☻

The new dish looks like


Some clues…Some clues…• Its bigger (from 400m2 to 500m2)

• Square mirrors rule

• Joining frames like this is bloody expensive


The siteThe site


The site last weekThe site last week


1st big Dish demonstration power system planned for Whyalla, South Australia


Some Research Directions

• Videographic Flux Mapping• Raytracing• Receiver modelling• Transient Simulations

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Gig

awat

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Power Output

Average Solar Radiation/month

Linear (Average SolarRadiation/month)Linear (Power Output)



Concentrated Solar Power in Vegas!

• Nevada Solar One – 64 MW• Typical coal power station ~ 2000 MW• Home photovoltaic array ~ 2 kW


Back to storage


• Molten salt• Hot oil• Superheated steam

concentrator storage24 hour electricity



Ammonia storage

ammonia (liquid)

heat nitrogen (gas)

hydrogen(gas)

700oC500oC

Ruthenium catalyst3 2 22 3NH H N H



Little Dish

20m2 (Big Dish 400m2)

Ammonia thermochemistry



Rim angle = 70o



Questions?

Solar Power station to provide all of Australia’s energy needs ?

Legend

greater than 24MJ/m2day

less than 24 but greater than 23mJ/m2day





less than 16MJ/m2day

Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society

Land Area for a Solar Future

• Assume:

5000Wh/m2/day average insolation

5000PJ = 5x1018J required per year

Conversion of solar energy at 20% efficiency

• 5000Wh/m2/day x 365days x 0.2 = 1314MJ/m2/year• (5 x 1018J/year)/(1.314 x 109J/m2 /year) = 3.81 x 109m2

=3805km2 = 61.7km x 61.7km• Allowing for spacing between collectors:

@ 10% coverage; 38052km2 = 195km x 195km

@ 20% coverage; 19026km2 = 138km x 138km

Solar Thermal Group Department Of Engineering Solar Thermal Group Department Of Engineering and...

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