OUT Success Stories: Power Towers Page: 1 of 2
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Power Towers
Proving the technical feasibility and cost
potential of generating large-scale electric
power from the sun when it is needed,day or night
Power towers convert the thermal energy
of the sun to electricity. They are large-scale
power plants producing clean energy and
suited for operation in sunny, semi-arid
regions of the world.
Large-scale solar power technology did not
exist until the eighties. From 1982 to 1988,
the U.S. Department of Energy, with the
support of private industry, constructed and
operated Solar One. This country's first power
tower, Solar One proved power towers are
technically feasible.
Today, Solar Two advances power tower
technology one step further. Located at theBuilt and tested Solar One, this
country's first power tower
Built Solar Two, the world's most
advanced power tower-energy
storage enables the plant to
continue producing power during
cloudy periods or after dark
Can be integrated with new power
plants running on fossil fuel
Can be scaled up to
100- to 200-megawatt capacity,
positioning industry to build
commercial-scale plants in
the next decade
Highlights environmental and
economic benefits of solar energy.Solar One site (near Barstow, California),
Solar Two can produce enough electricity for
10,000 homes. It is operated by the Solar Two
Consortium (see list under "Project Partners"),
headed by Southern California Edison
Company of Irwindale, California, in
partnership with DOE.The Office of
Power
Technologies is
part of the
Office of
Energy
Efficiency and
Renewable
EnergySolar Two is essentially a large research facility,
meant to investigate the technical and opera-
tional issues of combining a power tower with
energy storage. The 10-megawatt power plant
began generating power in June 1996 and is
scheduled to operate through 1999. It features
a 300-foot tower rising from the center of a
95-acre field of sun-tracking mirrors, called
heliostats. The 2000 heliostats capture the
sun's heat and reflect it onto the tower. The
heat equivalent of up to 800 suns is focused on
the receiver at the top of the tower. An
essential aspect of Solar Two is to test the
efficiency and performance of this receiver,
which was newly designed for Solar Two.
-- -- -z -
o rnousana sun-tracking mi-rrs surround ine
central receiver tower at the Solar Two site. During
daylight hours, the mirrors continuously direct sunlight
on the receiver-the black cylinder located at the top
of the tower.0
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Jones, J. OUT Success Stories: Power Towers, book, August 31, 2000; Golden, Colorado. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc618874/m1/1/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.