Enormous quantities of energy fall as sunlight on the world’s hot deserts and ‘concentrating solar power’ (CSP) is a proven technology for tapping in to it (see, for example, the website of the US Government's Department of Energy at
www.eere.energy.gov/solar/csp.html). CSP, which is very different from the better-known photovoltaics, is not some futuristic possibility like fusion nuclear power. CSP IS A RELATIVELY SIMPLE, MATURE AND PRACTICAL TECHNOLOGY THAT, WITH THE RIGHT POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL IMPETUS, CAN BE BROUGHT INTO PLAY VERY SOON.
Further information, with links to other sources, may be found at
http://www.mng.org.uk/green_house/re...energy/csp.htm .
'Power towers', for example, use a large field of sun-tracking mirrors to concentrate sunlight on to a receiver on the top of a low tower. The sun heats a fluid inside the receiver. An early U.S. demonstration plant, Solar One, used water as the fluid, generating steam in the tower to drive a turbine to generate electricity. 'Trough systems' use parabolic trough-shaped mirrors, each one of which focuses light on a tube containing oil or similar fluid that takes the heat to where it can be used to raise steam and generate electricity. And each 'dish/engine' system uses a large sun-tracking mirror with a Stirling engine generator at it focal point to convert heat energy into electricity.
The heat from concentrating solar power plants can be stored in melted salt or other substance so that, when the sun goes down, the power plant can continue to generate electricity right through the night.
Some detailed projections prepared for the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) by 'TRANS-CSP' show how, even allowing for increases in demand for energy, a combination of CSP with other technologies could allow Europe to cut CO2 emissions from electricity generation by about 70% by the year 2050, and phase out nuclear power at the same time.
People in the UK and elsewhere in Europe apparently assume that CSP is not relevant to their needs because they are a long way from the kinds of hot deserts where CSP comes into its own. But average transmission losses over modern high-voltage DC transmission lines (HVDC) are about 3% per 1000 km. In round figures, this means that electricity can be transmitted from North Africa to London with only a 6% loss of power. Since the 'fuel' for CSP is free, any such loss is quite acceptable.
The Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC) argue that CSP plants—and wind farms—in North Africa and the Middle East can provide electrical power for those areas and for the whole of Europe with transmission losses that would be less than 15%. That level of loss compares extremely favourably with the 70% losses that have been accepted for many years from conventional coal-fired power stations where the fuel is far from being free.
CSP shows that cutting UK emissions of CO2 need not be as difficult as many people assume. Politicians will be more ready to accept mandatory annual 3% cuts in UK emissions of CO2 (as proposed in 'EDM 178' and a new Bill to be put to the British Parliament) if they can see that it is feasible and affordable to do.
CSP, in itself, provides a major reason why we should not contemplate building new nuclear power stations. If there is an inexhaustible, plentiful and pollution-free source of electricity available, why bother with nuclear power and its many headaches (summarised on
http://www.mng.org.uk/green_house/re...y/no_nukes.htm .
Concentrating solar power
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