An overview of concentrated solar energy and its applications
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present general descriptions, current projects and summary of the concentrated solar energy (CSE) technologies and present application areas show that CSE can be used in a wide variety of systems, could provide significant environmental and monetary benefits.
Abstract: Overview of the present-day concentrated solar energy (CSE) technologies is presented. Approaches to concentrating solar energy are reviewed and the current projects worldwide of CSE technologies are compared. This paper presents general descriptions, current projects and summary of the CSE technologies. Parabolic trough collectors (PTCs) technology is found to be a mature technology. The linear Fresnel collectors (LFCs) technology is still in the experimental stage. The tower solar power (TSP) technology is preferred for large scale due to the cheapness. Sterling/dish collectors (SDCs) technology is designed especially for remote applications and has the highest overall efficiency and the highest operating temperature. The application areas show that CSE can be used in a wide variety of systems, could provide significant environmental and monetary benefits.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the two-step thermochemical cycle with regard to reaction heat source, metal oxide characteristics, and chemical reactors was reviewed. And the possibility of achieving large-scale industrial production and the perspective on future material development were also analyzed.
72 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the current state of electricity generation and the development of the biomass, wind and solar energy industry in South Africa are discussed and recommendations are suggested on the steps that can further drive the integration of renewable energy technologies into the present energy mix of the country.
Abstract: The rising energy demand has started to overwhelm the existing power generating plants in South Africa. Also, the conventional electricity generating plants are largely responsible for the high greenhouse gas emissions recorded in the country. In an attempt to mitigate CO2 emissions and provide reliable electricity for its people, South Africa is gradually developing its renewable energy sector. This review chronicles electricity generation in South Africa from inception to date. It examines the current state of electricity generation and the development of the biomass, wind and solar energy industry in South Africa. Additionally, the growth of renewable energy technologies is discussed and recommendations are suggested on the steps that can further drive the integration of renewable energy technologies into the present energy mix of the country.
39 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the design of an energy conversion system operating on solar radiation harvesting and converting it into electricity with the help of thermopiles is presented, where the major major...
Abstract: The present work aims at improving the design of an energy conversion system operating on solar radiation harvesting and converting it into electricity with the help of thermopiles. Here, the major...
16 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a solar thermal system which uses solar dish collector is applied in order to provide a portion of the required thermal load in the process and the results demonstrate that by this modification number of units of the Zn system reduces and the chemical process is simplified.
16 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, a comparative study between central linear Fresnel reflectors and compact linear Fresnet reflectors is carried out, and it is shown that compact linear reflectors minimize blocking and shading losses compared to a central configuration, but this minimization is not enough to overcome other negative effects of the compact Fresnel collectors, as the greater dispersion of the rays reaching the receiver, caused by the fact that mirrors must be located farther from the receiver.
70 citations
"An overview of concentrated solar e..." refers background in this paper
...The Fresnel lens are also becoming more popular and being tried for different applications (Franc et al. 1986; Xie et al. 2011; Montes et al. 2014; Benmarraze et al. 2015)....
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TL;DR: Optical properties of flat linear Fresnel lenses manufactured from glass are discussed in this paper, where the authors consider the behavior of the lenses in perpendicular and inclined beams of rays of rays.
20 citations
"An overview of concentrated solar e..." refers background in this paper
...The Fresnel lens are also becoming more popular and being tried for different applications (Franc et al. 1986; Xie et al. 2011; Montes et al. 2014; Benmarraze et al. 2015)....
[...]
TL;DR: In this paper, a comparative study of the instantaneous efficiency of solar parabolic trough is done using MATLAB R201a software mathematical calculation with four different types of cover system are mathematically analyzed.
Abstract: Solar energy is primary source of all type of energy which is present in nature i.e. all the energy derived from it. So, direct utilization of solar energy into useful energy is important. There are so many solar thermal equipments in which concentrating type collector heated the fluid up to 100 to 400 0 C. It is employed for a variety of applications such as power generation, industrial steam generation and hot water production. Parabolic trough collector is preferred for steam generation because high temperatures can achieve. Cylindrical parabolic trough type collector consists of selective concentrator and a receiver tube. The selective cover system prevents the heat loss (convective and radiative) from the receiver tube and improves the performance of solar parabolic trough. Also evacuated chamber is created to reduce the loss of heat and reduce the corrosion of concentrator surface. Tracking system is embedded in the solar parabolic trough for tracking the sun energy movement. This report presents the evaluation of solar insolation in terms of monthly average hourly global radiation in Patna on 10 th April, 2013. On the basis of this solar energy flux, comparative study of the instantaneous efficiency of solar parabolic trough is done. Here four different types of cover system are mathematically analyzed. (i) Single glass cover on receiver (ii) Double glass cover on receiver (iii) Single glass cover on aperture (iv)Double glass cover on aperture. This report contains many graphs to illustrate the effect on instantaneous efficiency on variation of primary parameter. With the help of MATLAB R201a software mathematical calculation is obtained.
7 citations
TL;DR: The WECSP solar plant is a 1 MWe solar thermal power plant based on Linear Fresnel Reflector CSP Technology developed by French technology provider Solar Euromed as mentioned in this paper, which is designed with a Rankine cycle and ultimately injects electricity into the Jordan local electricity grid.
6 citations
"An overview of concentrated solar e..." refers background in this paper
...The Fresnel lens are also becoming more popular and being tried for different applications (Franc et al. 1986; Xie et al. 2011; Montes et al. 2014; Benmarraze et al. 2015)....
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01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discussed different modules of the CSP plant and suggested ways to improve on the conversion efficiencies of individual modules, and an overall system performance simulation is carried out using SAM and the simulation results show that electricity can be produced using CSP at the cost of R1.05 per kWh.
Abstract: CSP (concentrated solar power) has been viewed as the technology that if properly developed could lead to a large scale conversion of solar energy into electricity. CSP is a type of solar energy converter that is classified as thermal converter because the output power produced is a function of the operating temperature. The main components of a CSP plant are the solar field which is made up of the heliostat arrays, the receiver tower, the heat transfer fluid, the molten salt thermal energy storage tanks and the power conversion unit, which is made up of the turbine and the generator. The main advantage of CSP is that of a cheap thermal storage (i.e., molten salt storage) which makes it possible to dispatch power at a cost comparable to the grid electricity. Simulations run with the SAM (systems advisory model) developed by NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) showed that CSP is capable of delivering electricity at the cost of 17UScents per kWh for the 30-year life of the plant. The main disadvantage of CSP however, is that of low efficiency (8%-16%). There are ongoing research works to improve the efficiency of the CSP. One way to improve the efficiency is to increase the operating temperature of the system. In this paper, the authors discussed different modules of the CSP plant and suggested ways to improve on the conversion efficiencies of individual modules. Finally, an overall systems performance simulation is carried using SAM and the simulation results show that electricity can be produced using CSP at the cost of R1.05 per kWh.
4 citations