PS10 Solar Power Tower

Europe's first commercial concentrating Planta Solar 10 or PS10 solar power tower operates near the Southern Spanish city of Seville. The 11 megawatt (MW) solar power tower produces electricity with 624 large movable mirrors called heliostats, it took four years to build and so far cost 35 million Euros.

Suppliers

The mirrors were delivered by Abengoa, the solar receiver was designed and built by Tecnical-Tecnicas Reunidas, a Spanish Engineering Company; and the Solar Tower was designed and built by ALTAC, another Spanish Engineering and Construction Company.

Specification

Each of the mirrors has a surface measuring 120 m² (1,292 square feet) that concentrates the sun's rays to the top of a 115 meter (377 ft) high, 40-story tower where a solar receiver and a steam turbine are located. The turbine drives a generator, producing electricity. As of May 2007, this power is three times more expensive than power from conventional sources, but prices are likely to fall, as they have with wind power and as the technologies develop.

Future plans

PS10 is the first of a set of solar power generation plants to be constructed in the same area that will total more than 300 MW by 2013. Power generation will be accomplished using a variety of technologies. The first two power plants to be brought into operation at Sanlúcar la Mayor are the PS10, and Sevilla PV, the largest low concentration system photovoltaic plant in Europe.

Energy storage

The PS10 solar power tower stores heat in tanks as superheated and pressurized water at 50 bar and 285°C. The water evaporates and flashes back to steam, when pressure is lowered. Storage is for one hour. It is suggested that longer storage is possible, but that has not been proven yet in an existing power plant. However, there are many consideration for using molten salt as an energy storage medium due to the great capability of storing energy for long period of time with some insignificant losses.


Yazd integrated solar combined cycle power station

The Yazd integrated solar combined cycle power station is a hybrid power station situated near Yazd, Iran which became operational in 2009. It is the world's first combined cycle power plant using solar power and natural gas. The plant has a capacity of 467 MWh and uses solar energy to augment its steam generation by concentrating solar power technology. Yazd integrated solar combined cycle power station by the start of 2010 was the eight largest solar power plant in the world.

PS20 Solar Power Tower

The Planta Solar 20 or PS20 solar power tower is a solar thermal energy plant in Sanlucar la Mayor near the southern Spanish city of Seville. It is the world's most powerful solar power tower. The 20 megawatt solar power tower produces electricity with large movable mirrors called heliostats.

Abengoa Solar has begun commercial operation of the giant new PS20 solar power tower located at the Solucar Platform, near Seville. With a generating capacity of 20 megawatts, the new power tower will produce enough solar energy to supply 10,000 homes.

During a three-day production and operational testing period last week, the PS20 surpassed the predicted power output, further validating the high potential of power tower technology, the company said in a statement.

"Generating more power during production testing than the design output is indeed a significant milestone," said Santiago Seage, CEO of Abengoa Solar. "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."

The world's second power tower plant in commercial use, PS20 features a number of technological improvements over PS10, Abengoa's and the world's first commercial power tower.

The power capacity of the PS20 is double that of the earlier power tower, and Abengoa Solar has put in a higher-efficiency receiver, improvements in the control and operational systems, and a better thermal energy storage system.

PS20 consists of a solar field made up of 1,255 mirrored heliostats. Each heliostat, with a surface area of 1,291 square feet, reflects the solar radiation it receives onto the receiver, located on the top of a 531 feet-high tower.

The concentrated heat produces steam, which is converted into electricity generation by a turbine.

Abengoa Solar says operation of PS20 will avoid the emission of approximately 12,000 tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that a fossil fuel-burning power plant would have produced.

The Solucar platform generates 300 megawatts from a variety of solar sources - 50 MW from tower technology, 250 MW from troughs, 1.2 MW produced by photovoltaic technology, and 80 MW from Stirling dish technology.

Located in Sanlucar la Mayor, the platform will have 300 MW of installed capacity when it is completed in 2013. At that point the company says it is expected to produce enough energy to supply 153,000 households, and will prevent the emission of 185,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

During the lifespan of the platform, the company says, it will reduce an estimated four million tons of carbon emissions.

The platform covers a land area of 800 hectares and will create 300 permanent jobs for a total investment of 1.2 billion Euros.

Besides the Solucar Platform, Abengoa Solar is building commercial solar power plants in Spain, Algeria, Morocco and the United States.

With U.S. headquarters in Lakewood, Colorado, last October Abengoa was awarded two research and development projects in the field of concentrating solar power that total over $14 million by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Under the first award, Abengoa aims to develop technology that will reduce the cost of thermal energy storage for parabolic trough-based concentrating solar power systems by 20 to 25 percent. Three other Energy Department contracts were awarded to Abengoa in December 2007 that are focused on developing more efficient parabolic trough technology.

Under the second 2008 contract Abengoa will investigate new technologies for integrating thermal energy storage with power tower systems.

"Thanks to support on both sides of the Atlantic," said Seage, "we will be able to offer energy solutions that are increasingly more clean and efficient."

Extresol Solar Power Station

The Extresol Solar Power Station is a Spanish 150 MW commercial parabolic trough solar thermal power plant, located in Torre de Miguel Sesmero in the province of Badajoz, Spain.

The solar thermal power plant will be formed by three different systems: Extresol 1, Extresol 2 and Extresol 3, of 50 MW each, due to the power limitation of 50 MW per plant established by the Spanish legislation.

Extrasol has a thermal storage system which absorbs part of the heat produced in the solar field during the day and stores it in molten salts.

Extresol 1 costed around 300 M€ and was inagurated the 25th of February 2009.

With EXTRESOL 1 connection, ACS-Cobra becomes the world leader in commercially operating STE (CSP) plants, with a total operating capacity of 150 MW.

As its predecessors ANDASOL 1 and 2, EXTRESOL 1 has a 7.5-hour molten salts storage, which allows a wide dispatchability possibilities to adapt its operation to the grid demand.

ACS-Cobra is presently building another 4 plants with the same basic technology, applying lessons learned in the first projects to improve constructability, performance and/or reduce installation and operation and maintenance costs in these plants.

By 2011, ACS will complete the first set of plants totalling 350 MW of dispatchable power.

ACS, through its 100% subsidiary Cobra, is the EPC contractor in association with SENER of the 17 MW GEMASOLAR central tower project, using molten salts as working and storage fluid with 15-hour capacity, that is presently in advanced construction and will be operational next year.

ACS is actively pursuing, both as shareholder and constructor, projects in the USA, South America, Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries, Australia, the Gulf countries and China.


Alvarado I

Alvarado I is large solar thermal power plant in Alvarado, in Extremadura, Spain. Construction on the plant commenced in December 2007 and was completed in July 2009, when commercial operations began. With an installed capacity of 50 MWe, it is one of the largest solar thermal power stations in the world.

The facility is built on a 1 km2 (0.4 sq mi) site with a solar resource of 2,174 KW·h/m3/year, producing an estimated 105,200 MW·h of electricity per year (an average power of 12 MW). The plant uses parabolic trough technology, and is made up of 768 solar thermal collectors, with an output temperature of 393 °C (739 °F), transferred with Biphenyl and Diphenyl oxide heat transfer agents.

A second 50 MWe facility, Alvarado II, is currently on the proposal stage. It is planned to be constructed in the same area as Alvarado I.

Alvarado I
Country Spain
Location Alvarado, Extremadura
Coordinates 38°49′37″N 06°49′34″W / 38.82694°N 6.82611°W / 38.82694; -6.82611Coordinates: 38°49′37″N 06°49′34″W / 38.82694°N 6.82611°W / 38.82694; -6.82611
Owner Acciona Energy
Status Operational
Fuel Solar thermal
Installed capacity 50 MWe
Annual generation 105,200 MW·h
Commissioned July 2009

Nevada Solar One

Nevada Solar One is a concentrated solar power plant, with a nominal capacity of 64 MW and maximum capacity of 75 MW. The project required an investment of $266 million USD and electricity production is estimated to be 134 million kilowatt hours per year.

It is the second solar thermal power plant built in the United States in more than 16 years and the largest STE plant built in the world since 1991. It is on the southeast fringes of Boulder City, Nevada and was built in that city's Energy Resource Zone which requires renewable generation as part of plant development permits; Nevada Solar One was approved as part of Duke Energy's larger El Dorado Energy project that built 1 GW of electrical generation capacity. The solar trough generation was built by Acciona Solar Power, a partially owned subsidiary of Spanish conglomerate Acciona Energy. Lauren Engineers & Constructors (Abilene, TX) was the EPC contractor for the project. Acciona purchased a 55 percent stake in Solargenix (formerly Duke Solar) and Acciona owns 95 percent of the project. Nevada Solar One is unrelated to the Solar One power plant in California.

A year earlier, Arizona Public Service's Saguaro Solar Facility opened, in 2006, using similar technology, located 30 miles north of Tucson, and producing 1 MW. Nevada Solar One went online for commercial use on June 27, 2007. It was constructed over a period of 16 months. The total project site is approximately 400 acres (0.6 mi² / 1.6 km²), while the solar collectors cover 300 acres (1.2 km2).

Nevada Solar One uses 760 parabolic troughs (using more than 180,000 mirrors) made by Flabeg AG in Germany that concentrate the sun's rays onto thermos tubes placed at the focal axis of the troughs and containing a heat transfer fluid (solar receivers), in contrast to the power tower concentrator concept that California's original Solar One project uses. These specially coated tubes, made of glass and steel, were designed and produced by Solel Solar Systems as well as by Schott Glass in Germany. Motion control was supplied by Parker Hannifin, from components by Ansco Machine Company. The plant uses 18,240 of these four-meter-long tubes. The heat transfer fluid is heated to 735 °F (391 °C). The heat is then exchanged to water to produce steam which drives a Siemens SST-700 steam turbine, adapted to the specific requirements of the CSP technology.

Solar thermal power plants designed for solar-only generation are well matched to summer noon peak loads in areas with significant cooling demands, such as the southwestern United States. Using thermal energy storage systems, solar thermal operating periods can be extended to meet base load needs. Given Nevada's land and sun resources the state has the ability to produce more than 600 GW using solar thermal concentrators like those used by Nevada Solar One.

Nine parabolic concentrator facilities have been successfully operating in California's Mojave Desert commercially since 1984 with a combined generating capacity of 354MW for these Solar Energy Generating Systems. Other parabolic trough power plants being proposed are two 50 MW plants in Spain (see Solar power in Spain), and two 110 MW plants in Israel.

It has been proposed that massive expansion of solar plants such as Nevada Solar One has the potential to provide sufficient electricity to power the entire United States.

Andasol Solar Power Station

The Andasol solar power station is Europe's first commercial parabolic trough solar thermal power plant, located near Guadix in the province of Granada, Spain.

Andasol Solar Power Station

Andasol Solar Power Station
Country Spain
Location near Guadix,Granada
Coordinates 37°13′42.70″N 3°4′6.73″W / 37.228528°N 3.0685361°W / 37.228528; -3.0685361Coordinates: 37°13′42.70″N 3°4′6.73″W / 37.228528°N 3.0685361°W / 37.228528; -3.0685361
Owner ACS Group (Andasol 1 & 2)
Solar Millennium
MAN Ferrostaal AG
Stadtwerke München
RWE Innogy
Status Operational (Andasol 1 & 2)
Fuel Solar
Installed capacity 50 MW
Commissioned 2009

Andasol is the first parabolic trough solar power plant in Europe, and Andasol 1 went online in March 2009. Because of the high altitude (1,100 m) and the desert climate, the site has exceptionally high annual direct insolation of 2,200 kWh/m² per year. Each plant has a gross electricity output of 50 megawatts (MWe), producing around 180 gigawatt-hours (GW·h) per year (21 MW·yr per year). Each collector has a surface of 51 hectares (equal to 70 soccer fields); it occupies about 200 ha of land.

Andasol has a thermal storage system which absorbs part of the heat produced in the solar field during the day. This heat is then stored in a molten salt mixture of 60% sodium nitrate and 40% potassium nitrate. A turbine produces electricity using this heat during the evening, or when the sky is overcast. This process almost doubles the number of operational hours at the solar thermal power plant per year. A full thermal reservoir holds 1,010 MW·h of heat, enough to run the turbine for about 7.5 hours at full-load, in case it rains or after sunset. The heat reservoirs each consist of two tanks measuring 14 m in height and 36 m in diameter and containing molten salt. Andasol 1 is able to supply environmentally friendly solar electricity for up to 200,000 people.

Rationale

Andasol 1 cost around €300 million (US$380 million) to build. The developers say Andasol's electricity will cost €0.271 per kilowatt-hour (kW·h) to produce. Thermal energy storage at 400 degrees C (75 tonnes of salt per MWhe) costs roughly US$50 per kilowatt-hour of capacity, according to Greg Glatzmaier of the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) — about 5% of Andasol's total cost.

In Spain, solar-thermal electricity receives a feed-in tariff of just under €0.27/kW·h for the next 25 years.

The Andasol solar power plants are helping to meet summer peak electricity demand in the Spanish power grid primarily caused by air conditioning units. The electricity supplied from the Andasol plants is ideal for meeting the demand during the day, particularly early afternoon, when the power demand reaches its peak and solar radiation (as well as the power plant output) are also at their peak.

Developers

The developer of the Andasol 1 and Andasol 2 plants are Solar Millennium (25%) and ACS Cobra (75%). After planing, engineering and construction Solar Millennium sold their shares to ACS Group. Andasol 3 is developed by the consortium of Solar Millennium and MAN Ferrostaal. Marquesado Solar SL is the investor consortium which is going to commission and operate Andasol 3. Shareholders of Marquesado Solar SL are:

  • Solanda GmbH, a joint venture of Solar Millennium and MAN Ferrostaal AG (26%)
  • Stadtwerke München (48.9%)
  • RWE Innogy & RheinEnergie (25.1%)

Solar Energy Generating Systems

Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) is the largest solar energy generating facility in the world. It consists of nine solar power plants in California's Mojave Desert, where insolation is among the best available in the United States. SEGS III–VII (150 MW) are located at Kramer Junction, SEGS VIII–IX (160 MW) at Harper Lake, and SEGS I–II (44 MW) at Daggett respectively. NextEra Energy Resources operates and partially owns the plants located at Kramer Junction and Harper Lake.

Plants' scale and operations

The plants have a 354 MW installed capacity, making it the largest installation of solar plants of any kind in the world. The average gross solar output for all nine plants at SEGS is around 75 MWe — a capacity factor of 21%. In addition, the turbines can be utilized at night by burning natural gas.

NextEra claims that the solar plants power 232,500 homes and displace 3,800 tons of pollution per year that would have been produced if the electricity had been provided by fossil fuels, such as oil.

The facilities have a total of 936,384 mirrors and cover more than 1,600 acres (6.5 km2). Lined up, the parabolic mirrors would extend over 229 miles (370 km).

Principle of operation

The installation uses parabolic trough solar thermal technology along with natural gas to generate electricity. 90% of the electricity is produced by the sunlight. Natural gas is only used when the solar power is insufficient to meet the demand from Southern California Edison, the distributor of power in southern California.

Mirrors

The parabolic mirrors are shaped like a half-pipe. The sun shines onto the panels made of glass, which are 94% reflective, unlike a typical mirror, which is only 70% reflective. The mirrors automatically track the sun throughout the day. The greatest source of mirror breakage is wind, with 3000 typically replaced each year. Operators can turn the mirrors to protect them during intense wind storms. An automated washing mechanism is used to periodically clean the parabolic reflective panels.

Heat transfer

The sunlight bounces off the mirrors and is directed to a central tube filled with synthetic oil, which heats to over 400 °C (750 °F). The reflected light focused at the central tube is 71 to 80 times more intense than the ordinary sunlight. The synthetic oil transfers its heat to water, which boils and drives the Rankine cycle steam turbine, thereby generating electricity. Synthetic oil is used to carry the heat (instead of water) to keep the pressure within manageable parameters.

Individual locations

The SEGS power plants were built by Luz Industries, and commissioned between 1984 and 1991. Kramer Junction employs about 95 people and 45 people work at Harper Lake.

SEGS plant history and operational data
Plant Year
built
Location Net turbine
capacity
Field
area
Oil
temperature
Gross solar production
of electricity (MWh)



(MW) (m²) (°C) 1996 average 1998–2002
SEGS I 1984 Daggett 14 82,960 307 19,900 16,500
SEGS II 1985 Daggett 30 165,376 316 36,000 32,500
SEGS III 1986 Kramer Jct. 30 230,300 349 64,170 68,555
SEGS IV 1986 Kramer Jct. 30 230,300 349 61,970 68,278
SEGS V 1987 Kramer Jct. 30 233,120 349 71,439 72,879
SEGS VI 1988 Kramer Jct. 30 188,000 391 71,409 67,758
SEGS VII 1988 Kramer Jct. 30 194,280 391 70,138 65,048
SEGS VIII 1989 Harper Lake 80 464,340 391 139,174 137,990
SEGS IX 1990 Harper Lake 80 483,960
141,916 125,036

Harper Lake

SEGS VIII and SEGS IX, located at 35°01′54″N 117°20′53″W / 35.0316°N 117.348°W / 35.0316; -117.348 (SEGS VIII and IX), are the largest solar power plants individually and collectively in the world. They were the last, the largest, and the most advanced of the nine plants at SEGS, designed to take advantage of the economies of scale. SEGS VIII and IX have operated continuously and have been commercially successful since the very beginning.

Kramer Junction

This location (35°00′51″N 117°33′32″W / 35.0142°N 117.559°W / 35.0142; -117.559 (SEGS III–VII)) receives an average of 340 days of sunshine per year, which makes it an ideal place for solar power generation. The average direct normal radiation (DNR) is 7.44 kWh/m²/day (310 W/m²), one of the best in the nation.

Daggett

SEGS I and II are located at 34°51′47″N 116°49′37″W / 34.8631°N 116.827°W / 34.8631; -116.827 (SEGS I and II).

Accidents and incidents

In February 1999, a 900,000-US-gallon (3,400 m3) therminol storage tank exploded at the SEGS II (Daggett) solar power plant, sending flames and smoke into the sky. Authorities were trying to keep flames away from two adjacent containers that held sulfuric acid and caustic soda. The immediate area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2) was evacuated.


List of Photovoltaic Power Plants in the World

Solar photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity and many solar photovoltaic power stations have been built, mainly in Europe. As of October 2009, the largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the world are the Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park (Spain, 60 MW), the Strasskirchen Solar Park (Germany, 54 MW), the Lieberose Photovoltaic Park (Germany, 53 MW), the Puertollano Photovoltaic Park (Spain, 50 MW), the Moura Photovoltaic Power Station (Portugal, 46 MW), and the Waldpolenz Solar Park (Germany, 40 MW). Some photovoltaic power stations which are presently proposed will have a capacity of 150 MW or more.

Many of these plants are integrated with agriculture and some use innovative tracking systems that follow the sun's daily path across the sky to generate more electricity than conventional fixed-mounted systems. There are no fuel costs or emissions during operation of the power stations.

World's largest photovoltaic power stations (20 MW or larger)
Power station Country Nominal Power
(MWp)
Production
(Annual GW·h)
Capacity
factor
Notes
Sarnia PV power plant Canada 80

Completion 2010
Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park Spain 60 85 0.16 Completed September 2008
Strasskirchen Solar Park Germany 54 57

Lieberose Photovoltaic Park Germany 53 53 0.11 2009
Puertollano Photovoltaic Park Spain 47.6

231'653 crystalline silicon modules, Suntech and Solaria, opened 2008
Moura photovoltaic power station Portugal 46 93 0.23 Completed December 2008
Kothen Solar Park Germany 45

2009
Finsterwalde Solar Park Germany 42

2009
Waldpolenz Solar Park Germany 40 40 0.11 550,000 First Solar thin-film CdTe modules. Completed December 2008
Planta Solar La Magascona & La Magasquila Spain 34.5


Arnedo Solar Plant Spain 34

Completed October 2008
Planta Solar Dulcinea Spain 31.8

Completed 2009
Merida/Don Alvaro Solar Park Spain 30

Completed September 2008
Planta Solar Ose de la Vega Spain 30


Planta Fotovoltaico Casas de Los Pinos Spain 28


Planta Solar Fuente Alamo Spain 26 44

DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center USA 25 42 0.19 Completed October 2009
SinAn power plant Korea 24 33 0.16 Completed October 2008
Montalto di Castro PV power plant Italy 24 40
Completed 2009
Arnprior Solar Generating Station Canada 23.4


Planta fotovoltaica de Lucainena de las Torres Spain 23.2

Completed August 2008
Abertura Photovoltaic Power Station Spain 23.1 47 0.23
Hoya de Los Vicentes Solar Plant Spain 23 41 0.20
Pocking Solar Park Germany 22


Mengkofen Solar Park Germany 21.7


El Coronil Solar Power Plant Spain 21.4


Solarpark Calveron Spain 21.2 40 0.22
Rothenburg photovoltaic solar park Germany 20.5


Seoul Solar Power Plant Korea 20


Huerta Solar Almaraz Spain 20

Completed September 2008
Calasparra Photovoltaic Power Plant Spain 20

Completed September 2008
Beneixama photovoltaic power plant Spain 20 30 0.17 Tenesol, Aleo and Solon solar modules with Q-Cells cells
El Bonillo Solar Park Spain 20

Completed October 2008
Kunming Shilin Solar Power Plant China 20

Capacity 166 MW. Production started on May 2010 at 20 MW.
For comparison, the largest non-photovoltaic solar plant, the solar thermal SEGS in California has an installed capacity of 354 MW. The largest nuclear power stations generate more than 1,000 MW.


Selected smaller plants which are notable
Name of PV power plant Country DC
Peak
Power
(MW)
GW·h
/year
Capacity
factor
Notes
Koethen Germany 14.75 13
200,000 First Solar thin-film CdTe modules. Completed December 2008
Nellis Solar Power Plant USA 14.02 30 0.24 70,000 solar panels
Planta Solar de Salamanca Spain 13.8

70,000 Kyocera panels
Lobosillo Solar Park Spain 12.7

Chaori and YingLi modules
Erlasee Solar Park Germany 12 14 0.13 1,408 Solon mover
Serpa solar power plant Portugal 11 20 0.21 52,000 solar modules
Pocking Solar Park Germany 10 11.5 0.13 57,912 solar modules
Kennedy Space Center, Florida USA 10

constructed by SunPower for FPL Energy, completion date April 8, 2010.
Monte Alto photovoltaic power plant Spain 9.5 14 0.17
Gottelborn Solar Park Germany 8.4 8.4 0.11
Alamosa photovoltaic solar power plant USA 8.2 17 0.24 Completed December 2007
Bavaria Solarpark Germany 6.3 6.7 0.12 57,600 solar modules
Rote Jahne Solar Park Germany 6 5.7 0.11 90,000 First Solar thin-film modules
Darro Solar Park Spain 5.8 11.6 0.23 Conergy and SunPower modules
Kameyama Japan 5.2

47,000 square meters on Sharp LCD factory roof


Large systems in planning or under construction
Name of Plant Country DC
Peak
Power
(MW)
GW·h
/year
Capacity
factor
Notes
Ordos Solar Project China 2000 ~3875 ~.25 Thin film CdTe from First Solar, scheduled completion date 2019, to be completed in 4 stages **
Topaz Photovoaltic Solar Farm USA 550 1,066 0.23 Thin film CdTe from First Solar **
Desert Stateline USA 300 673 0.26 Scheduled to be completed in 2015 **
Desert Sunlight 1 USA 300 619 0.23 Scheduled to be completed in 2015 **
Aqua Caliente Solar Project USA 290 688 0.27 Scheduled to be completed in 2014 **
AV Solar Ranch One USA 230 600 0.30 **
California Valley Solar Ranch (CVSR) USA 210 550 0.25 Scheduled to be completed in 2011 **
Mallee Solar Park Australia 180

Thin film CdTe from First Solar**
Mildura Solar Concentrator Power Station Australia 154 270 0.20 Heliostat concentrator using GaAs cells from Spectrolab**
Mesquite Solar Energy 1 USA 150 350 0.27 Scheduled to be completed in 2013 **
KCRD Solar Farm USA 80

Scheduled to be completed in 2012 **
Alpaugh Solar Plant USA 50 80 0.18 Scheduled to be completed in 2013 **
Alpine Suntower USA 66 145 0.25 Scheduled to be completed in 2012 **
Lopburi Solar Farm Thailand 55

* Expected to be completed by 2012
Cimarron Solar Farm USA 30 60 0.23 * Expected to be completed by December 2010
St. Isidore, Ontario* Canada 24

153,000 panels, St. Isidore A 12 MW completed Dec 2010, St. Isidore B to complete in 2011
Davidson County Photovoltaic Solar Plant USA 21.5

36 individual structures**
Guadarranque or Cádiz solar power plant Spain 20.1 36 0.20 *

List of Solar Thermal Power Plants

This is a list of solar thermal power plants. These include the 354 megawatt (MW) Solar Energy Generating Systems power plant in the USA, Solnova solar power station (Spain, 150 MW), Andasol solar power station (Spain, 100 MW), Nevada Solar One (USA, 64 MW), PS20 solar power tower (Spain, 20 MW), and the PS10 solar power tower (Spain, 11 MW).

The solar thermal power industry is growing rapidly with 1.2 GW under construction as of April 2009 and another 13.9 GW announced globally through 2014. Spain is the epicenter of solar thermal power development with 22 projects for 1,037 MW under construction, all of which are projected to come online by the end of 2010. In the United States, 5,600 MW of solar thermal power projects have been announced. In developing countries, three World Bank projects for integrated solar thermal/combined-cycle gas-turbine power plants in Egypt, Mexico, and Morocco have been approved.

Capacity
(MW)
Technology type Name Country Location
354 parabolic trough Solar Energy Generating Systems USA Mojave Desert California
150 parabolic trough Solnova Spain Seville
100 parabolic trough Andasol solar power station Spain Granada
64 parabolic trough Nevada Solar One USA Boulder City, Nevada
50 parabolic trough Ibersol Ciudad Real Spain Puertollano, Ciudad Real
50 parabolic trough Alvarado I Spain Badajoz
50 parabolic trough Extresol 1 Spain Torre de Miguel Sesmero (Badajoz)
50 parabolic trough La Florida Spain Alvarado (Badajoz)
20 solar power tower PS20 solar power tower Spain Seville
17 parabolic trough Yazd integrated solar combined cycle power station Iran Yazd
11 solar power tower PS10 solar power tower Spain Seville
5 fresnel reflector Kimberlina Solar Thermal Energy Plant USA Bakersfield, California
5 solar power tower Sierra SunTower USA Lancaster, California
5 parabolic trough Archimede solar power plant Italy near Siracusa, Sicily
2 fresnel reflector Liddell Power Station Solar Steam Generator Australia New South Wales
1.5 dish stirling Maricopa Solar USA Peoria, Arizona
1.5 solar power tower Jülich Solar Tower Germany Jülich
1.4 fresnel reflector Puerto Errado 1 Spain Murcia
1 parabolic trough Saguaro Solar Power Station USA Red Rock Arizona
2 parabolic trough Keahole Solar Power USA Hawaii
0.25 CSP Shiraz solar power plant Iran Shiraz