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Solana Generating Station

Coordinates: 32°55′00″N 112°58′01″W / 32.9167°N 112.967°W / 32.9167; -112.967
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Solana Generating Station Project
Assembly of the parabolic mirrors
Map
CountryUnited States
LocationMaricopa County
Coordinates32°55′00″N 112°58′01″W / 32.9167°N 112.967°W / 32.9167; -112.967
StatusOperational
Construction beganDecember 2010
Commission date2013
Construction costUS$2 billion
OwnersAtlantica Yield[1]
Liberty Interactive Corporation
OperatorArizona Solar One LLC
Solar farm
TypeCSP
CSP technologyParabolic trough
Collectors3,232
Total collector area2,233,958 square metres (552.023 acres)
Power generation
Units operational2
Make and modelSiemens[2]
Nameplate capacity280 MW
Annual net output944 GW·h
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

The Solana Generating Station is a solar power plant near Gila Bend, Arizona, about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Phoenix, completed in 2013. When commissioned it was the largest parabolic trough plant in the world and the first U.S. solar plant with molten salt thermal energy storage.[3] Built by the Spanish company Abengoa Solar, it has a total capacity of 280 megawatts (MW) gross, from two 140 MW gross (125 MW net) steam turbine generators, which is enough to power 70,000 homes while avoiding around 475,000 tons of CO2 every year.[4] Its name is the Spanish term for "sunny spot".[5]

Technology

The plant employs a proprietary concentrating solar power (CSP) trough technology developed by Abengoa, and covers an area of 1,920 acres (780 ha). Construction was expected to create about 1,500 construction jobs with the plant employing 85 full-time workers.[6][7] Solar thermal plants use substantially more water for cooling than other solar generating technologies. Nevertheless, the Sierra Club supports the Solana plant, because it will be built on private land, and use "75 to 85 percent less water than the current agricultural use."[8]

Economics

Arizona Public Service (APS) has contracted to purchase 100% of the power output generated from Solana, to meet the Arizona Corporation Commission's (ACC) mandate that the state's regulated utilities provide 15% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025. APS will pay about 14 cents per kWh.[9] The Solana plant was originally planned to open in 2011 and was estimated to cost $2 billion.[10] In December 2010, Abengoa received a $1.45 billion loan guarantee to support construction of the plant.[11]

Energy storage

Construction of the Salt Tanks

One of the principal advantages of concentrated solar thermal (CST) is that thermal energy storage can be provided efficiently,[12] so that output can be provided after the sun goes down, and output can be scheduled to meet demand requirements.[13] The Solana Generating Station is designed to provide six hours of energy storage. This allows the plant to generate about 38 percent of its rated capacity over the course of a year.[14]

Production

Solana Generating Station's production is as follows.[15]

Year GW·h
2013 89.25
2014 603.57
2015 718.84

Projected full production is 944,000 MW·h (994 GW·h).[16] At the end of the second full year of operation, the Solana Generating Station is still operating 25 percent below the projected full production value.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Our Assets". Atlantica Yield (was Abengoa Yield). 2 November 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Solana Project Description". Atlantica Yield (was Abengoa Yield). Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  3. ^ Mearian, Lucas. U.S. flips switch on massive solar power array that also stores electricity: The array is first large U.S. solar plant with a thermal energy storage system, October 10, 2013. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
  4. ^ "Solana, the largest parabolic trough plant in the world". Abengoa. Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  5. ^ "Solana" in wordreference.com
  6. ^ Abengoa to Build 280MW Concentrating Solar Power Plant in Arizona, CleanEdge.com website, February 21, 2008.
  7. ^ Lavelle, Marianne. Big Solar Project Planned for Arizona Desert: $1 billion installation would use parabolic mirrors to generate power southwest of Phoenix, U.S. News & World Report, February 21, 2008.
  8. ^ Gelt, Joe (2008). "Clean, Green Solar Power Falls Short in Achieving Water Efficiency". Arizona Water Resource (Arizona Water Resource, vol. 17, no. 1, 16pp., Water Resources Research Center, Tucson, AZ, Autumn 2008). University of Arizona, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  9. ^ Randazzo, Ryan (February 21, 2008). "Plant to brighten state's solar future". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  10. ^ Randazzo, Ryan (July 3, 2010). "Arizona solar plant gets big boost from feds". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  11. ^ "Abengoa closes $1.45 billion federal loan guarantee for Arizona solar farm". Reuters. Dec 21, 2010.
  12. ^ Wright, matthew; Hearps, Patrick; et al. Australian Sustainable Energy: Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan, Energy Research Institute, University of Melbourne, October 2010, p. 33. Retrieved from BeyondZeroEmissions.org website.
  13. ^ Innovation in Concentrating Thermal Solar Power (CSP), RenewableEnergyFocus.com website.
  14. ^ Solana: 10 Facts You Didn't Know About the Concentrated Solar Power Plant Near Gila Bend
  15. ^ a b Energy Information Administration. "Solana Generating Station, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  16. ^ "Solana Generating Station". Concentrating Solar Power Projects. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). February 23, 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-22.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Solana Generating Station.
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