THE FUTURE OF CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER PLANTS

A MILESTONE IN SOLAR THERMAL POWER GENERATION
At the time it was built, nevada solar one was the fi rst new
large-scale solar thermal power station worldwide in 17 years. It
is presumed to be an important milestone in the history of power
generation with renewable energies. Leading experts regard nevada
solar one as a main impulse for the restart of solar power
generation in the south-west of the US. On a clear summer’s day
with the sun directly overhead, nevada solar one can convert
about 21 percent of the sun’s rays into electricity.
CUSTOMIZED SOLUTIONS AND SUPPORT
FOR A PROTOTYPE APPLICATION
The Nevada plant has 76 kilometers of parabolic cylinder concentrators
with almost 219,000 mirrors that concentrate the sun’s rays
onto more than 19,000 receiver tubes located on their focal line. A
fl uid that heats up to 400°C fl ows through these pipes and is used
to produce steam and drive a conventional turbine connected to
SPX Selected Solar References
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a generator to produce electricity. After changed conditions in the
energy market it was worthwhile to build an improved type of
parabolic trough solar thermal power plant for the fi rst time after
many years. Therefore, this layout needed a customized solution
because of its prototype character.
spx met the challenge and produced the delivered components
according to the individual and specifi c demands of the owner
Acciona. We delivered the complete steam generator system and
evaporative cooling tower for nevada solar one. The perfect
interplay of these particular components is the key factor to the
effi ciency of the plant.
Example of an spx Evaporative Cooling Tower
The spx Evaporative Cooling Tower is one of the important components of the
Cold End – one of spx’s key competencies. Every tower is tailored to the individual
and specifi c demands of the customer. The more fl exible the system specifi cations
are designed here, the more optimizable the overall system will be.