Solar Thermal Power Systems

This volume of the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology, Second Edition, describes technologies that actively convert solar radiation into useful heat in a temperature range from just above ambient up to more than 1,000°C. Applications cover a broad range of energy services such as space heating, cooking, domestic hot water supply, electrical power generation, and high temperature thermochemical processes. The major developments that have led to currently available technologies for solar thermal energy applications were initiated mainly after the first oil shock in 1973. Solar thermal energy is widely used already for heating purposes (water, space) in the “low” temperature range up to about 100°C employing mainly nonconcentrating collectors, whereas higher temperatures can be achieved with more sophisticated solar collector technologies. Temperatures over 200°C typically require concentrating solar radiation using mirror systems. Several different technologies are described in detail in this volume, including solar collector systems in the lower temperature range, the direct use of solar radiation for food processing, namely cooking and drying, the production of electricity through conversion of solar radiation first to heat, driving a mechanical conversion system coupled to an electric generator, the use of solar radiation to drive chemical processes, and many more.

1. 1 Historical Background and Relationship to the lEA One of the objectives of the energy research, development and demonstra tion program of the International Energy Agency (lEA) is to promote the development and application of new and improved energy technologies which could potentially help cover our energy needs. Early in 1976, a working party for Small Solar Power Systems (SSPS) was created with the approval and encouragement of the Committee for Research and Develop ment of the International Energy Agency (lEA) [1]. At that time the following countries showed interest in attending the formative meeting: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Great Britain, Greece, The Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States of America. In its first meetings the SSPS Working Party explored the technological possibilities of the exploitation of solar power at small levels (photovoltaics, wind, waves and thermal power conversion) and also reviewed what was being done at that time in the domain of solar power in each of the participating countries. At a meeting in mid 1976 in Vienna, a study performed by MBB was presented. It stated that as distributed systems (systems using a large number of parabolic trough collectors "DCS", see chapter 4) grow linearly in terms of power, the associated costs grow as a function of the size of the intended system. By comparison, the cost per unit output of the central receiver systems ("CRS" , see section 5.

After decades of research and development, concentrating solar thermal (CST) power plants (also known as concentrating solar power (CSP) and as Solar Thermal Electricity or STE systems) are now starting to be widely commercialized. Indeed, the IEA predicts that by 2050, with sufficient support over ten percent of global electricity could be produced by concentrating solar thermal power plants. However, CSP plants are just but one of the many possible applications of CST systems. Advances in Concentrating Solar Thermal Research and Technology provides detailed information on the latest advances in CST systems research and technology. It promotes a deep understanding of the challenges the different CST technologies are confronted with, of the research that is taking place worldwide to address those challenges, and of the impact that the innovation that this research is fostering could have on the emergence of new CST components and concepts. It is anticipated that these developments will substantially increase the cost-competiveness of commercial CST solutions and reshape the technological landscape of both CST technologies and the CST industry. After an introductory chapter, the next three parts of the book focus on key CST plant components, from mirrors and receivers to thermal storage. The final two parts of the book address operation and control and innovative CST system concepts. Contains authoritative reviews of CST research taking place around the world Discusses the impact this research is fostering on the emergence of new CST components and concepts that will substantially increase the cost-competitiveness of CST power Covers both major CST plant components and system-wide issues