Since its inception, solar technology development has existed primarily as either photovoltaic, with many small units or residences or commercial buildings, or as large-scale solar thermal.
A new kind of solar facility, the first hybrid solar thermal plant, is being developed by AORA-- more importantly, one that can be easily deployed and efficiently run.
The AORA (formerly EDIG Solar) hybrid solar power station will be up and running as of today, with enough capacity to power 70 homes continuously -- through the night and cloud cover. Thirty heliostats will track and reflect the sun towards the nearly hundred-foot tall turbine tower, where the concentrated sunlight heats compressed air, which then drives a gas turbine.
Small-scale solar thermal technology was the company's goal-the Kibbutz Samar station in southern Israel will produce 100 kW of on-demand power and 170 kW of thermal power. Using the gas turbine improves space and energy efficiency, requiring fewer mirrors, saving space when alternatives are taken from the larger standard steam turbine.
I spoke with Yuval Susskin, Chief Operations Officer at AORA, who holds not only hopeful plans for future collaboration with Jordan, who "has the sun and the land" appropriate for solar development, but also who has plans for global expansion.
AORA's goal was to bring solar thermal technology down to a small, community-sized scale that could be quickly and less expensively erected. "There is a chasm in the industry-- between massive solar thermal [arrays] in the desert and small photovoltaic in the home because there is nothing that satisfies community-sized scale solar," Susskin said."No one is working on providing solar power to nearby homes."
But why solar thermal and not PV?
"Solar thermal is a great technology for sunny areas, while PV can be more efficient in cloudy climates with indirect sunlight. When PV panels heat up, they lose efficiency, but in places like England, Japan or Germany, they [flourish]."
The system provided three unique advantages, according to Susskind-the first being that the engine is hybrid, "The customer is guaranteed electricity." Secondly, as the unit is modular (any number of 100kW base units), projects are allowed flexibility to scale up or down -"It's not like old solar, which can be huge; you can shut one unit down and maintain the others for power, depending on demand."
Finally, the hybridity guarantees electricity, but more importantly, can take advantage of any fuel-"These engines can run on any alternative fuel, on diesel, crude oil, natural gas or even green fuels like biofuel and biodiesel," Susskind emphasized. The hybrid system allows use in locations with limited advanced fuel access, like Africa, so that the system could be powered at night by the local fuel supply, whatever it may be.
The hybrid plant could also be used to "smarten" up electrical grids.
The company has already completed a pilot unit in Nanjing, China, which differed architecturally from the tower. Haim Dotan, an architectural firm that is also building the Israel Pavilion for the World 2010 Expo, designed the tower; but what's the story behind the unique "tulip" shape?
"The design is very smooth, and the reason for that is our desert facility happens to be located in one of the world's busiest bird migratory routes, so we wanted to build it in such a way that birds wouldn't be able to land on the tower," Susskind said. The tower is held up by guide wires to allow for a thinner structure to minimize shadow, and therefore, energy losses.
The yellow color was also inspired by a nearby air force training facility, as it had to be bright enough for aircrafts performing low flying exercises."
Several groups are arriving today to sign initial letters of intent to start new projects, from Spain, Chile and Australia, according to AORA. "In Australia, the major issue is distance," said Susskind-transporting electricity over vast distances means expensive power lines, and because of this small to medium sized communities are running off inefficient, polluting diesel generators.
"These [communities] are in the middle of the outback, the [solar hybrid plant] would be perfect-park it in a field and you could supply accessible solar energy to nearby areas," he added.
This sustainable effort, the first successful implementation of its kind, will pave the way for new solar efforts. Creating hybrid technologies that take advantage of existing fuels while building on their efficiency is the key to infrastructure stability and compatibility.
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