The PS10 Solar Power Plant ( es, Planta Solar 10), is the world's first commercial concentrating
solar power tower
A solar power tower, also known as 'central tower' power plant or 'heliostat' power plant, is a type of solar furnace using a tower to receive focused sunlight. It uses an array of flat, movable mirrors (called heliostats) to focus the sun's ra ...
operating near
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
, in
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. The 11
megawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units, International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), ...
(MW) solar power tower produces electricity with 624 large movable mirrors called
heliostat
A heliostat (from ''helios'', the Greek word for ''sun'', and ''stat'', as in stationary) is a device that includes a mirror, usually a plane mirror, which turns so as to keep reflecting sunlight toward a predetermined target, compensating ...
s.
It took four years to build and so far has cost €35 million (US$46 million).
PS10 produces about 23,400
megawatt-hour
A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...
s (MW·h) per year, for which it receives €271 (US$360) per MW·h under its
power purchase agreement
A power purchase agreement (PPA), or electricity power agreement, is a contract between two parties, one which generates electricity (the seller) and one which is looking to purchase electricity (the buyer). The PPA defines all of the commercial te ...
, equating to a revenue of €6.3 million per year.
Suppliers
The mirrors were delivered by
Abengoa, the solar receiver was designed and built by , and the Solar Tower was designed and built by ALTAC, both Spanish engineering and construction companies.
Specifications
Each of the mirrors has a surface measuring that concentrates the sun's rays to the top of a 115-meter (377 ft) high, 40-story tower where a solar receiver and a steam turbine are located. The turbine drives a generator, producing electricity.
The PS10 is located 20 km west of Seville (which receives at least nine hours of sunshine 320 days per year, with 15 hours per day in mid summer). The solar receiver at the top of the tower produces
saturated steam at 275 °C. The
energy conversion efficiency
Energy conversion efficiency (''η'') is the ratio between the useful output of an energy conversion machine and the input, in energy terms. The input, as well as the useful output may be chemical, electric power, mechanical work, light (radia ...
is approximately 17%.
Plans

PS10 is the first of a set of
solar power
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...
generation plants to be constructed in the same area that will total more than 300 MW by 2013. Power generation will be accomplished using a variety of technologies. The first two power plants to be brought into operation at
Sanlúcar la Mayor Sanlúcar la Mayor is a municipality in the province of Seville, southern Spain. The municipality is the location of the Solucar Complex.
Gaspar de Guzmán, Count of Olivares was created Duke of Sanlúcar la Mayor
Duke of Sanlúcar la Mayor ( ...
are the PS10, and Sevilla PV, the largest low concentration system photovoltaic plant in Europe.
300 MW:
Completed and is operating:
* PS10 (10 MW)
*
PS20
The PS20 solar power plant (PS20) solar power plant is a solar thermal energy plant in Sanlucar la Mayor near Seville in Andalusia, Spain. It was the world's most powerful solar power tower until the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in California ...
(20 MW)
*
Solnova 1 (50 MW)
* Solnova 3 (50 MW)
* Solnova 4 (50 MW)
total: 180 MW.
Three more plants are planned:
* AZ20 (20 MW)
* Solnova 2 (50 MW)
* Solnova 5 (50 MW)
Total 120 MW.
PS20 and AZ20 are twin 20 MWe tower plants based on the same concept as PS10.
Energy storage
The PS10 solar power tower stores heat in
tanks
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine ...
as superheated and pressurized water at 50
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
and 285 °C. The water evaporates and flashes back to steam, releasing energy and reducing the pressure. Storage is for 30 minutes.
[ ] It is suggested that longer storage is possible, but that has not been proven in an existing power plant. However, there are many considerations for using
molten salt as an
energy storage
Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production.
A device that stores energy is generally called an accumulator or battery.
Energy comes in ...
medium due to the great capability of storing energy for long periods without substantial losses (see
Concentrated solar power
Concentrated solar power (CSP, also known as concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal) systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight into a receiver. Electricity is generated when ...
). Another possibility is to use a
phase-change material
A phase change material (PCM) is a substance which releases/absorbs sufficient energy at phase transition to provide useful heat or cooling. Generally the transition will be from one of the first two fundamental states of matter - solid and liq ...
as thermal storage where
latent heat is used to store energy.
See also
*
List of solar thermal power stations
This is a list of the largest facilities generating electricity through the use of solar thermal power, specifically concentrated solar power.
Operational
Under construction
Announced
Cancelled
Decommissioned
* Eurelios pi ...
*
Renewable energy in the European Union
Renewable energy plays an important and growing role in the energy system of the European Union. The Europe 2020 strategy included a target of reaching 20% of gross final energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020, and at least 32% by 203 ...
*
Solar power in Spain
Spain is one of the first countries to deploy large-scale solar photovoltaics, and is the world leader in concentrated solar power (CSP) production.
In 2018, the cumulative total solar power installed was 7,011 MW, of which 4,707 MW were solar ...
*
Solar thermal energy
*
Solucar
Abengoa Solar (formerly Solúcar Energía) is a subsidiary of Abengoa. Its primary activities include designing, promotion, financing attainment, construction and operation of solar power stations that use photovoltaics, concentrated photovoltaic ...
References
External links
Final technical progress report for
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
officials (November 2006)
Power station harnesses Sun's raysPower tower reflects well on sunny Spain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ps10 Solar Power Tower
Solar power stations in Spain
Solar thermal energy
Energy development
Energy in Andalusia