Epuron Australia - Technology

CONCENTRATING SOLAR POWER:
TECHNOLOGY WITH POTENTIAL

Solar energy can be used in the most efficient way in countries that have a high solar irradience: by means of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP). Solar thermal power plants require 1900 kWh of solar radiation or more per square meter and year.

The countries of the sunbelt (i.e. the region between the 35th north and south latitudes) offer the best locations for this technology. These include the countries of the Arabian peninsula, the northern and southern parts of Africa, parts of India, Australia, South and parts of North America. The most promising locations in Europe are found in Spain, Greece as well as some Mediterranean islands.

ONE PERCENT OF THE SAHARA

Solar thermal power plants are a major electrical opportunity
for the regions mentioned above.

To offer some perspective on how abundant this region is -
it would take only one percent of the Sahara to provide the electrical
requirements for the entire world. Thus, the potential that lies in the
sunbelt exceeds the global eletrical requirements many times over.

TECHNOLOGY WITH POTENTIAL

In large-scale solar thermal plants the solar radiation is concentrated up to 80 times by means of parabolic trough collectors.

The concentrated solar energy heats a heat transfer medium (e.g. thermo oil) to a temperature of between 200 and 380 degrees centigrade. The heat transfer medium transports the energy in a circulation system to a steam generator. As is the case in the classic steam circulation in conventional power plants, the steam is used to drive a turbine and generate electricity.

Nowadays one single solar thermal power plant can generate a total capacity of up to 400 megawatts.