Solar power plant project for North (China, 1000 MW solar-thermal)

[jpak]

http://english.people.com.cn/200606/04/eng20060604_270950.html

Solar Millennium AG, a Germany-based solar energy technology company, is working with its Chinese counterpart to build a multi-billion-dollar solar power plant in North China.

<snip>

Preparatory work will be completed for construction to begin by the end of the year, said Christian Beltle, chairman of Solar Millennium.

When completed, the plant will be China's first large-scale commercial plant converting sunlight into electricity, industry experts said.

The project, using solar-thermal technology provided by Solar Millennium AG, would have a capacity of 1,000 MW (megawatts) by 2020.

<more>

[NewJeffCT]

1. Now, how is that compared to a regular power plant or a nuke one?

1000 Megawatts - is that a lot, when compared to a regular coal plant or a nuclear plant?

I know China is going to be building more nuclear plants as well. And, somebody I know in the nuke business says that several are planned for the US.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. Some spend their money on creating a source of clean/renewable

energy.... others spend their money on getting control of someone else's oil. I suppose both moves are logical, but only one is acceptable.

[brokensymmetry]

3. So, if we shifted the money from Iraq to this...

I wonder how many we could have in a year?

I think China may someday touch the stars. It
could have been the U.S....but it won't be.

[Ready4Change]

4. Are they doing a solar trough or chimney? Anyone know?

In looking over Solar Millennium AGs website, it looks like thye do both. I'm surprised to see there was an operating solar chimney plant in Spain for a few years. I didn't know any of those had actually been built.

So, any idea what tech they are going to use in China?

[Massacure]

5. I doubt it would be a chimney.

Its too radical at this point in time. I wonder if they plan to co-gen with a natural gas plant at night.

[Ready4Change]

6. I thought so too, then I saw this: (link)

http://www.solarmillennium.de/start_en.php?pl0=21&pl1=104&cid=309

Looks like there was an operational one in Spain between 1982 and 1989. Odd they don't provide any info on its output, or why they stopped its operation.

China is the sort of place that could put big works into action. It'll be very interesting to see what they do. It'll be very frustrating to watch some nation other than MINE do it.

[Dead_Parrot]

7. Whoa...

I didn't know anyone had actually built one, either. There's a pdf here with some some info on chimneys in general and Manzanares in particular:

During the 32 month period, plant reliability was over 95 %. Sporadic storm damage to
the old plastic film area of the collector was repaired without switching off the plant. The
5 per cent non-operational period was due to automatic plant switch-off at the weekend
when the Spanish grid occasionally failed.

It seems to have peaked at 50kW, but then it was only a test of the technology. I'll admit I had this approach pinned as a "yeah, in 50 years" solution, But I guess I was wrong...

Googling "Manzanares solar" turned up a few links for the interested.

Edit: Although FWIW I can't see the Chinise building a GW solar plant on the basis of a 50 kW one :) A trough is more likely...

[Ready4Change]

8. More interesting links

I got curious, so I started looking around. Seems a group has been interested in building a 200mw plant in Australia. Originally they had planned to have it done in 2005, but it looks like they've had funding issues.

Here's a page with an artist concept:

http://www.wentworth.nsw.gov.au/solartower/

Also from that page, a map if the proposed location:

http://www.wentworth.nsw.gov.au/solartower/location.php

Now HERE'S what's interesting to me: Google maps image on the area from the map above:

http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=dareton,+australia&ll=-34.041138,142.333889&spn=0.06714,0.171661&t=h&om=1

See that shadow in the middle? Zoom in on it, and it looks to me like a structure casting a mighty big shadow.

Something big is brewing down under, me thinks.

[Dead_Parrot]

10. Interesting...

If that is somthing casting a shadow, it's at least 150m tall - although it could also just be a funny shaped lake/patch of vegetation in exactly the right place... :shrug:

[Ready4Change]

9. Yah, one GW plant seems unlikely.

The 200MW Australian plant I linked to above looks to need a tower about 1000 meters tall. That's huge. Since these type of plants are said to scale up exponentially a GW tower wouldn't need be 5000 meters tall, but it would still be gargantuan. (I've been waiting all my life to use that word. :) )

What I could more easily see, and imagine being built, would be the same land area containing, say, 10 100MW plants. Much more "buildable", and you could do a few now, a few more later on, etc...

Or they may be doing troughs. Or a mix. Who knows?

[phantom power]

12. I know they're angling to build one in Australia.

Last I heard, they were attempting to get the appropriate land and permits, etc, for a three thousand foot concrete tube.

[jpak]

11. I learn something new every day

thanks!