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solar thermal power plant: What is it?

A thermal power station (also called "solar thermal power plant"), collects solar energy through solar panels of conveying light into a liquid that, having reached the boiling point, it becomes and gas is piped into a turbine connected to an alternator. The kinetic energy of the gas is then converted into mechanical energy, which is used by the alternator to produce electricity.

Esis central, rather than using solar panels, using a system mirrors oriented so as to convey all the light towards a water tank atop a tower. The light (heat) to evaporate the liquid in this tank and through the turbine and generator to get electricity generation.

The advantage of using mirrors is that they can reach higher temperatures and thus offers the possibility of using special liquids other than water and raise the overall efficiency of the system.

Carlo Rubbia, Nobel Prize in physics, explains the advantages of solar thermal:

"As a pilot project added 20 megawatts from solar technologies to the central Priolo enough to a city of 20 000 inhabitants, saving 12,500 tonnes of oil equivalent per year and avoid the emission of 40 thousand tonnes per year 's carbon dioxide. The beauty is that this type of energy is cheap: at current prices, the plant pays for itself in 6 years and it takes 30. Moreover, once it has started mass production, prices will tend to halve construction "

The efficiency of a thermodynamic system is very high compared to that of a photovoltaic system, we see some simple calculation.

Solar radiation average is about 1000 watts per square meter. From each square meter of mirrors, in a year, we get the equivalent amount of energy supplied from a barrel of oil. Assuming that 7 barrels correspond to one ton of oil, with 7 m would lead to a TOE (ton of oil equivalent). With 70,000 square meters (sq km or 0:07) would be obtained as many as 10,000 TEP, with 7,000,000 square meters and there would be a Mtoe, ie 0.5% of the Italian national demand.

To meet the overall national demand would be sufficient for an area of \u200b\u200ba square with sides of about 40 km .

In 2007 the Italian government has approved a plan to build 10 plants from 50 MWatt in southern Italy ...