World’s First Solar Power Plant that Works at Night Constructed

 World’s First Solar Power Plant that Works at Night Constructed  Energy, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Zero Emissions  No Responses »
Jul 062011
 

Gemasolar has completed the construction of the world’s first solar thermal power plant that is to generate electricity all day and night without interruption or variability.

This is a 19.9 MW plant with 15 hours of what is called thermal energy storage to back it up. It stores energy in what is sometimes called a salt “battery” which is not actually a battery but a tank of salt which is capable of storing large amounts of heat which can then be used when needed at night or during cloudy weather to boil water to produce steam which is needed to drive electricity generating steam turbines. Heat is actually thermal energy, hence the term thermal energy storage.

You probably already guessed that when weather is cloudy, there is not as much energy available and the power plant generates less than it is supposed to, therefore the stored heat compensates for that and keeps it at full power 24/7.

The issue of the variable power production of solar power plants has plagued that industry for a very long time and that is starting to change. This is one of two solar thermal projects that store energy for use at night time and during cloudy weather. Here is another that is to be constructed.

The salt solution is 60% potassium nitrate and 40% sodium nitrate. This is called a baseload power plant. Baseload power plants provide electricity reliabily all day without interruption or uncontrollable variability.

This project is one of two energy storage milestones that will likely lead to more similar projects in the future if they prove themselves to be viable.

Source: Forbes.

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 Posted by Nicholas on July 6, 2011  Tagged with:

45 Mile Wi-Fi Range is Now Possible with Lower Power Consumption Than Ever

 45 Mile Wi-Fi Range is Now Possible with Lower Power Consumption Than Ever  Energy  3 Responses »
Jul 042011
 

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45 mile Wi-FI transmitter. Courtesy of On-Ramp Wireless.

On-Ramp Wireless has invented a new way to transmit Wi-Fi which does not just entail using more power to strengthen the signal, but less (which is one reason why this news is on this website).

Wi-Fi signals become more and more distorted as they propagate through the air, and of course, after a while it becomes too distorted to be usable after 1/20 of a mile due to noise. This basically limits the range to the interior of buildings and this also limits the potential uses of Wi-Fi to applications within buildings as well. Imagine if you could connect wirelessly and even cheaply to someone 45 miles away without using the internet? How about while using less energy? You could also eliminate all of the network cables in the largest buildings cheaply and efficiently.

The transmitter in the image at the top of this page can do all of that.

This transmitter achieves that by utilizing an algorithm that transmits it at the same frequency, but in such a way that it is more resistant to noise so it can propagate through the noisy environment over a 45 mile distance.

Another energy related advantage of this is that it could facilitate fewer smart grid access points due to the fact that traditional access points don’t transmit nearly as far, so more are needed so that more access points are closer to buildings with smart meters.

The smart grid concept involves utilizing computer and network technology to enable power plant operators and residents to more effectively match the power production of power plants with power demand to reduce the imbalance of day and night time power consumption.

I will keep an eye open to see what happens with this technology and keep you updated if possible. Subscribe when the e-mail address field slides up at the bottom of the screen, or simply create an account by clicking register to the left of the page.

Thank you for reading and please comment, rate, tweet and “share” or “like” this article. Or you can just click the follow button below to follow me on Twitter.

Source and more details: Technology Review.

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 Posted by Nicholas on July 4, 2011

GE Develops More Adjustable Combined Cycle Power Plant

 GE Develops More Adjustable Combined Cycle Power Plant  Energy, Fossil Fuels  No Responses »
Jun 232011
 

Dampfturbine - Steam Turbine From Nuclear Power Plant. Obtained with thanks from cheesy42 on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheesy42/

General Electric (GE) says that it has developed a combined cycle power plant consisting of a natural gas and steam turbine which has the unique quality of adjustability (to a limited extent).

This plant’s power production can be increased at a rate of 50 MW or 50,000 kW per minute and is capable of maintaining greater than 60% efficiency even when generating only 40% of the maximum power rating.

Traditional steam power plants not only take a very long time to start, but they are also too inefficient to be practically adjusted enough to meet electricity demand, so the operators of these plants end up generating too much electricity at night and it is wasted, and during the day, they either barely meet electricity demand and are backed up by peaking generators or they generate too much electricity during the day and night. All of this is because electricity demand spikes and drops throughout the day, and daytime spikes are enormous.

Traditional steam power plants worldwide and especially in the United States are usually fueled by coal, natural gas and nuclear reactors. They are also less than 40% efficient so they waste more than 60% of their fuel as heat. This invention can help to back up all power plants for whatever reason, plus it can compensate for shortfalls in solar and wind power whether it is used at the wind and solar plants or if it is connected to the electricity grid elsewhere. They all contribute power to the grid.

This is why solar and wind power plants have been successfully integrated so far without storing the energy they generate, they are backed up by surplus power generated by other plants as well as hydroelectric power plants which are adjustable. They are limited to only a fraction of overall electricity generation if there is nothing put in place to back them up or help match their power production with demand (smart grid).

This power plant is also capable of starting in as little as 30 minutes if needed to backup another if there is a malfunction. I don’t know how well this power plant will actually perform in reality, but one is being constructed and we will see what happens. I wish that project the best.

Source: GE

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 Posted by Nicholas on June 23, 2011

Public Transportation Poll

 Public Transportation Poll  Energy  No Responses »
May 272011
 

People have varying reasons for avoiding public transportation. Please select your main reason. Please comment as well. Even if you do utilize public transportation sometimes, this poll is relevant to you, it is relevant to everyone because I want you to select the greatest problem that you have with it, whether or not you use it.

Public transportation includes bus, train, passenger jet, and ship based travel. Each of which has advantages. One thing that they have in common is that they are the cheapest modes of transportation.

They also share flaws such as time inefficiency and insecurity if not guarded.

[polldaddy poll=5090496]

 Posted by Nicholas on May 27, 2011

First Large Scale Solar Power Plant That Works at Night

 First Large Scale Solar Power Plant That Works at Night  Energy, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Zero Emissions  1 Response »
May 222011
 

PS10 Solar Power Tower - Courtesy of afloresm - Wiki Commons

The U.S government provided a $737 million dollar loan guarantee to a startup company named SolarReserve to construct the first large scale solar power plant that produces electricity all day and night, rain or shine, and independently (without backup).

This was achieved by utilizing thermal energy storage. This involves concentrating sunlight onto a collector which then absorbs the heat energy from it and stores it in molten salt. The molten salt supplies heat to the boiler which produces steam which rushes through a steam turbine.

Solar power’s market penetration is severely limited by the fact that solar power plants without energy storage generate significantly varying amounts of electricity, and of course, none at night. If they cannot produce electricity at night, then they cannot meet night time electricity demand, and that alone means that they cannot meet 100% of electricity demand, due to the fact that some is at night, however, this plant addresses that.

Significantly varying power production means that solar power plants without energy storage cannot solely be relied on without backup because if a greater percentage of electricity comes from a solar power plant when it is sunny, then when it is cloudy, and power production drops, the excess electricity generated by other power plants is not enough to compensate for that huge shortfall in power generation. If it was practical to adjust other power plants, then they could easily compensate for this variation by being turned up or down based on how much electricity is needed overall.

This power plant utilizes 17,500 heliostats which concentrate sunlight onto the collector (mentioned above) on a 640 foot tall tower to heat it to 1,050 °F for boiling so that steam can be produced to turn the electricity generating steam turbine.

A heliostat is a motorized mirror that tracks the sun and is designed to maximize the amount of sunlight reflected onto the collector.

This is a milestone, but, I don’t know how this project will turn out. Later, the results of the project will definitely be available. It is a large scale pilot experiment, and it is important proof of concept as well. It was a significant financial risk and if it works as hoped, then you are likely to see many more of these power plants in the future.

Source

 Posted by Nicholas on May 22, 2011  Tagged with: , , , ,
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