ABB announce new concept for concentrating solar power plants

• 12 years ago (2011-11-30)
• David Flin

North America 1021 Renewables 776

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ABB has launched what it describes as a new concept for turnkey concentrating solar power plants (CSP) based on a low-cost, efficient, scalable technology.

The ABB-Novatec Solar concept uses an innovative solar boiler design for direct steam generation based on linear Fresnel collector technology. Instead of the curved mirrors of a parabolic trough, the collectors use flat glass mirrors to reflect solar energy onto a receiver in which water is vaporised directly to produce superheated steam at temperatures of up to 500°C and a pressure of 100 bar.

The cost of building and operating the plants is kept low by: using standard materials such as sheet plates and glass mirrors, the automated mass production of key components in local production facilities, a fast and accurate assembly process, highly efficient land use, and a robotic cleaning system that uses very little water.

A 9.3 MW plant under construction in Australia is due to be completed in early 2012, and will be the world’s first solar boiler contributing steam to drive the turbines.