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Abengoa Solar's first high-temperature power tower, Eureka, was unveiled last week by Martín Soler Márquez, Director of Innovation, Science and Enterprise for the Andalusian Regional Government and representatives from the company.
The plant includes a thermal energy storage system supplying power supply to the grid for short periods when there is no sunlight.
This power tower is intended to test, on an experimental basis, a new type of receiver that will achieve the higher temperatures needed for higher-efficiency thermodynamic power cycles. It is the only plant like it in operation in Andalusia and Europe. The aim of this new technology is to increase plant performance, thereby reducing both generating costs and the area of the solar field.
This experimental plant occupies a 16,000-square foot portion of the Solúcar Platform and uses 35 heliostats and a 164-foot tower which houses the experimental superheating receiver. The power output capacity of the experimental plant is approximately 2 megawatts (MW). The plant includes a thermal energy storage system supplying power to the grid for short periods when there is no sunlight.
Abengoa Solar now has three solar power towers in operation, two for commercial use and this experimental tower. The new plant is part of the Solúcar Platform, a solar thermal and photovoltaic solar installation complex scheduled for completion in 2013.
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