Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 14.3.4 Schematic of a parabolic trough. Main components are outlined.
1998 when the Eurotrough project started. This project was cost-shared by a group
of European companies with the aim of developing an innovative parabolic trough
collector with high performances and reduced costs. Then, after 2000, the construction
of solar thermal plants started again with Nevada Solar One and the installation of
“Plataforma Solar de Almeria'' in Spain. In fact, the “Plataforma Solar de Almeria'' is
not a power plant but a test facility where different solar technologies can be tested
and compared.
Nowadays, several companies, such as Siemens (Siemens Concentrated Solar
Power), Archimede Solar Energy (Archimede Solar Energy), Schott (Schott Solar),
Abengoa (Abengoa Solar) to mention just a few, develop parabolic trough systems or
manufacture components.
Between 2009 and 2011 total installed capacity increased significantly, reaching
almost 2.1 GW. Most of this capacity was installed in only two nations: the United
States and Spain. An example of recently built solar power plants is the Andasol
project which has three plants of 50 MW ( The parabolic trough power plants Andasol
1to3 , 2008).
The basic component of the solar field is the Solar Collector Assembly (SCA), a
schematic of which is shown in Figure 14.3.4.
Each SCA consists of trough-shaped mirrors, also named parabolic trough reflec-
tors, supported by a structure and the tracking systems. The parabolic trough collectors
have a characteristic cylindrical shape with a parabolic curvature. Solar radiation is
reflected and concentrated on an absorber tube/pipe (also called the Heat Collection
Element) which transfers the thermal power to a fluid flowing inside. The parabolic
trough collectors are designed to achieve high performance at low cost with high
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