Shining like a futuristic lighthouse over a barren desert this is the world’s most powerful solar power tower. The 531 foot-tall PS20 tower, located near Seville in Spain is capable of generating 20 mega-watts of energy by using 1,255 mirrors to harness the raw power of Mediterranean sunlight.
Each mirror tracks the sun as it moves across the sky and aims light at the tower, which uses the massive heat generated to produce steam. This steam is then converted into enough electricity to power 10,000 homes and save 12,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. The incredible sci-fi tower is part of the Socular solar complex, due to be completed in 2013. So far two towers surrounded by mirrors have been built.
According to Santiago Seage, CEO of Abengoa Solar, “Generating more power during production testing than the design output is indeed a significant milestone. The technological breakthroughs we have achieved, coupled with our cumulative expertise, have enabled us to take a qualitative leap forward in our power tower technology.”
Once finished the entire platform will be capable of producing 300 mega-watts of electricity and will avoid an estimated 4 million tonnes of green-house gas emissions over its operational life span.
Around 92 per cent of the sun’s heat is converted directly into electricity by the plant – and the amount of energy produced by such plants can be so intense that eco-energy advocates claim it can be used to separate hydrogen from water to drive eco-friendly cars.
All you need is enough sunlight – and rather a lot of sun-tracking mirrors, also known as heliostats. In fact, PS10 has 624 of them, which concentrate enough energy onto a single point to deliver 11 megawatts of power, enough for about 5,500 homes. The PS20 plant has 1,255 heliostats and will produce up to 20 megawatts when fully operational in 2013. The energy produced is expensive – around three times the price of energy from normal methods – but the technology is flourishing, and prices are likely to plunge, with new plants worldwide including one in the Mojave Desert using 1.2 million mirrors.
Others are planned in Morocco and Algeria.
Spain’s spectacular solar power plant
