Abengoa Solar has unveiled its first high-temperature power tower, Eureka, which occupies 16,000 square feet of the Solucar Platform, located in the Andalusia region of Spain.
This power tower is intended to test a new type of receiver that will achieve the higher temperatures needed for higher-efficiency thermodynamic power cycles. It is the only plant featuring these characteristics in operation in all of Europe, Abengoa says. 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 uses 35 heliostats and a 164-foot tower that houses the experimental superheating receiver. The power output capacity of the experimental plant is approximately 2 MW. The plant includes a thermal energy storage system, which supplies power to the grid for short periods when there is no sunlight.
SOURCE: Abengoa Solar
