SkyTrough

Advantages

SkyTrough® collectors are designed to deliver the proven reliability of traditionalglass-mirror parabolic trough systems, but with several performanceand economic advantages that stem from significant design andmaterial innovations, including the use of ReflecTech® Mirror Film in placeof sagged glass mirrors, the OnSun™ rotary hydraulic drive system withadvanced SkyTrakker™ Sun tracking controls, and the lightweight, fastassemblyspace frame.

Construction

The highly reflective surface of the SkyTrough® is a glassfree,silver-metalized polymer film called ReflecTech® MirrorFilm. This proprietary mirror-film is weather resistant, easyto maintain, lightweight and commercially proven.ReflecTech® Mirror Film is laminated to aluminum sheets tocreate a revolutionary rib-and-panel parabolic mirror whichare integrated into an aluminum space frame to form theparabolic mirror surface of each module.The space frame is made of extruded aluminum struts andother com ponents that are precisely fabricated and it isself-aligning when joined together with fasteners, requiringno welding.The entire assembly is mounted on pylons and attached toa self-locking rotary hydraulic drive enabling the SkyTrough®to pivot and track the Sun.

Proven Performance of Parabolic Troughs

Parabolic trough concentrators have powered the Solar Energy GeneratingSystems (SEGS) in California’s Mojave Desert for over 20 years, producingover 350 megawatts of electricity, and serving as crucial proving groundsfor new parabolic trough designs and components, including the Sky -Trough®. The newest stand-alone parabolic trough concentrating solarplant in the United States, the Nevada Solar One 64-megawatt plantlocated near Las Vegas, Nevada, came online in the summer of 2007.Additional parabolic trough plants are now operating in Spain and moreare planned and under construction in the region.A SkyTrough® collector loop, with ReflecTech® Mirror Film and OnSun™tracking system, has been operating at SEGS II in Daggett, California sinceFebruary 2010. Performance data collected from the operating loop confirmthe 73% thermal efficiency predicted by testing at the U.S. National RenewableEnergy Lab (NREL). The ReflecTech film has demonstrated opticaldurability of over 20 years in NREL's Ultra Accelerated Weathering System.

SkyTrough® Innovations

The weight savings of ReflecTech® Mirror Film over glassleads to easier and more rapid reflector installation. EachReflecTech® mirror panel is one-third the weight of itssagged glass mirror equivalent. The lighter space frameuses less material, is easier to ship and requires less laborto assemble in the field.The SkyTrough® uses a new version of the industry leadingSCHOTT thermal receiver. The receiver is held along thefull length of the collector’s focal line. An oil-based heattransfer fluid flows through the receiver to absorb theSun’s energy and then delivers the thermal energy to aheat exchanger, where it generates steam for power generationor industrial processes.

Availability

The SkyTrough® is ready today, for global delivery. Please contact us tolearn more about the SkyTrough® and how it can become a part of yoursolar-thermal project. The SkyTrough® is robust and versatile, capable ofdelivering thermal energy to new solar power plant projects, existing powerplants, or industrial process heat applications.