Wednesday, July 21, 2010

World’s first solar/coal hybrid power station


The world's first hybrid solar/coal power plant has been built near Palisade in Colorado, the system focuses solar energy on mineral oil, which is then passed through a heat exchanger where it's used to preheat the water used by the coal-powered part of the 49MW plant. The station is intended to be a savings in coal use of 900 tons and a consequential reduction of carbon dioxide emissions up to 2,000 tons.
The ambition of the 4.5 million US dollar project is to demonstrate the potential for the integration of solar power into large scale coal power plants in order to reduce the amount of coal burnt (thus reduction in carbon dioxide).
The station comprises of eight rows of solar troughs 500 feet long, solar troughs have been around for decades. A ten percent cut in coal consumption in coal fired power stations in areas with the appropriate weather and solar intensity would be a great inspiration to limit carbon dioxide emissions globally.

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