Abengoa Solar has launched a new system designed to measure solar plant parabolic trough collector performance and quality in order to ensure enhanced performance throughout their operational lifetime. The system employs a set of optical instruments that can measure the geometrical and optical properties of collectors in different ways, both at the factory and when the troughs have been installed in the solar power plant.
Since the beginning of 2009, Abengoa Solar has been using this system to monitor the quality of the parabolic trough collectors installed at the 50 MW Solnova 1, Solnova 3 and Solnova 4 plants, currently under construction at the Solúcar Platform outside Seville, Spain. The system will also be used at the 280 MW Solana plant in Arizona, which is scheduled to open in 2011.
According to Abengoa, the system ensures consistent quality in the production process and facilitates inspection of each new collector. It is installed at the end of the assembly line, minimizing interruptions during the assembly process.
Abengoa Solar has also developed a system for quantifying and classifying the optical performance of parabolic trough collectors in the field. The systems were developed in collaboration with the German Aerospace Center and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Abengoa Solar: 34 913300669
SOURCE: Abengoa Solar
