Innovation in concentrated solar power
TL;DR: A multitude of advancements have been developed during this period, as the topic of concentrated solar power is becoming more mainstream as mentioned in this paper, including reflector and collector design and materials, heat absorption and transport, power production and thermal storage.
About: This article is published in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells.The article was published on 2011-10-01. It has received 477 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Concentrated solar power & Photovoltaic system.
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TL;DR: In this article, a review of thermal energy storage system design methodologies and the factors to be considered at different hierarchical levels for concentrating solar power (CSP) plants is presented.
1,031 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a methodology to predict hourly beam (direct) irradiation from available monthly averages, based upon combined previous literature findings and available meteorological data, and illustrate predictions for different selected STC locations.
Abstract: Concentrated solar power plants (CSPs) are gaining increasing interest, mostly as parabolic trough collectors (PTC) or solar tower collectors (STC). Notwithstanding CSP benefits, the daily and monthly variation of the solar irradiation flux is a main drawback. Despite the approximate match between hours of the day where solar radiation and energy demand peak, CSPs experience short term variations on cloudy days and cannot provide energy during night hours unless incorporating thermal energy storage (TES) and/or backup systems (BS) to operate continuously. To determine the optimum design and operation of the CSP throughout the year, whilst defining the required TES and/or BS, an accurate estimation of the daily solar irradiation is needed. Local solar irradiation data are mostly only available as monthly averages, and a predictive conversion into hourly data and direct irradiation is needed to provide a more accurate input into the CSP design. The paper (i) briefly reviews CSP technologies and STC advantages; (ii) presents a methodology to predict hourly beam (direct) irradiation from available monthly averages, based upon combined previous literature findings and available meteorological data; (iii) illustrates predictions for different selected STC locations; and finally (iv) describes the use of the predictions in simulating the required plant configuration of an optimum STC. The methodology and results demonstrate the potential of CSPs in general, whilst also defining the design background of STC plants.
834 citations
Cites background or methods from "Innovation in concentrated solar po..."
...Heat capacity of different storage materials, (kW h/m(3)) versus melting points (1K) [11]....
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...19 mirrors and thus needs less land than parabolic troughs to produce a given output [11]....
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...Molten single salts tend to be expensive [11],as illustrated in Fig....
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...or thousands of them are required to install a large scale plant like built with other CSP technologies [11]....
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...In order to select optimum sensible heat storage materials, the heat capacity plays a major role [11,21], and values are illustrated in Fig....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the current status of heat transfer fluid, which is one of the critical components for storing and transferring thermal energy in concentrating solar power systems, is reviewed in detail, particularly regarding the melting temperature, thermal stability limit and corrosion issues.
626 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-Energy) gave DE-AR0000471 and DE-ARM0000181 for the first time, respectively.
Abstract: United States. Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (Awards DE-AR0000471 and DE-AR0000181)
483 citations
TL;DR: It is found that direct steam generation (DSG) is a promising innovation which is reviewed in this study and provides a most up-to-date overview of the CSP technologies implemented across the globe.
Abstract: Concentrating solar power (CSP) has received significant attention among researchers, power-producing companies and state policymakers for its bulk electricity generation capability, overcoming the intermittency of solar resources. The parabolic trough collector (PTC) and solar power tower (SPT) are the two dominant CSP systems that are either operational or in the construction stage. The USA and Spain are global leaders in CSP electricity generation, whereas developing countries such as China and India are emerging by aggressive investment. Each year, hundreds of articles have been published on CSP. However, there is a need to observe the overall research development of this field which is missing in the current body of literature. To bridge this gap, this study 1) provides a most up-to-date overview of the CSP technologies implemented across the globe, 2) reviews previously published review articles on this issue to highlight major findings and 3) analyzes future research trends in the CSP research. Text mining approach is utilized to analyze and visualize the scientific landscape of the research. Thermal energy storage, solar collector and policy-level analysis are found as core topics of discussion in the previous studies. With a holistic analysis, it is found that direct steam generation (DSG) is a promising innovation which is reviewed in this study. This paper provides a comprehensive outlook on the CSP technologies and its research which offers practical help to the future researchers who start to research on this topic.
479 citations
References
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14 Jul 1995
TL;DR: In this article, Rowe et al. proposed a method for reducing the thermal conductivity of a thermoelectric generator by reducing the carrier concentration of the generator, which was shown to improve the generator's performance.
Abstract: Introduction, D.M. Rowe General Principles and Theoretical Considerations Thermoelectric Phenomena, D.D. Pollock Coversion Efficiency and Figure-of-Merit, H.J. Goldsmid Thermoelectric Transport Theory, C.M. Bhandari Optimization of Carrier Concentration, C.M. Bhandari and D.M. Rowe Minimizing the Thermal Conductivity, C.M. Bhandari Selective Carrier Scattering in Thermoelectric Materials, Y.I. Ravich Thermomagnetic Phenomena, H.J. Goldsmid Material Preparation Preparation of Thermoelectric Materials from Melts, A. Borshchevsky Powder Metallurgy Techniques, A.N. Scoville PIES Method of Preparing Bismuth Alloys, T. Ohta and T. Kajikawa Preparation of Thermoelectric Materials by Mechanical Alloying, B.A. Cook, J.L. Harringa, and S.H. Han Preparation of Thermoelectric Films, K. Matsubara, T. Koyanagi, K. Nagao, and K. Kishimoto Measurement of Thermoelectric Properties Calculation of Peltier Device Performance, R.J. Buist Measurements of Electrical Properties, I.A. Nishida Measurement of Thermal Properties, R. Taylor Z-Meters, H.H. Woodbury, L.M. Levinson, and S. Lewandowski Methodology for Testing Thermoelectric Materials and Devices, R.J. Buist Thermoelectric Materials Bismuth Telluride, Antimony Telluride, and Their Solid Solutions, H. Scherrer and S. Scherrer Valence Band Structure and the Thermoelectric Figure-of-Merit of (Bi1-xSbx)Te3 Crystals, M. Stordeur Lead Telluride and Its Alloys, V. Fano Properties of the General Tags System, E.A. Skrabek and D.S. Trimmer Thermoelectric Properties of Silicides, C.B. Vining Polycrystalline Iron Disilicide as a Thermoelectric Generator Material, U. Birkholz, E. Gross, and U. Stohrer Thermoelectric Properties of Anisotropic MnSi1.75 , V.K. Zaitsev Low Carrier Mobility Materials for Thermoelectric Applications, V.K. Zaitsev, S.A. Ktitorov, and M.I. Federov Semimetals as Materials for Thermoelectric Generators, M.I. Fedorov and V.K. Zaitsev Silicon Germanium, C.B. Vining Rare Earth Compounds, B.J. Beaudry and K.A. Gschneidner, Jr. Thermoelectric Properties of High-Temperature Superconductors, M. Cassart and J.-P. Issi Boron Carbides, T.L. Aselage and D. Emin Thermoelectric Properties of Metallic Materials, A.T. Burkov and M.V. Vedernikov Neutron Irradiation Damage in SiGe Alloys, J.W. Vandersande New Materials and Performance Limits for Thermoelectric Cooling, G.A. Slack Thermoelectric Generation Miniature Semiconductor Thermoelectric Devices, D.M. Rowe Commercially Available Generators, A.G. McNaughton Modular RTG Technology, R.F. Hartman Peltier Devices as Generators, G. Min and D.M. Rowe Calculations of Generator Performance, M.H. Cobble Generator Applications Terrestrial Applications of Thermoelectric Generators, W.C. Hall Space Applications, G.L. Bennett SP-100 Space Subsystems, J.F. Mondt Safety Aspects of Thermoelectrics in Space, G.L. Bennett Low-Temperature Heat Conversion, K. Matsuura and D.M. Rowe Thermoelectric Refrigeration Introduction, H.J. Goldsmid Module Design and Fabrication, R. Marlow and E. Burke Cooling Thermoelements with Superconducting Leg, M.V. Vedernikov and V.L. Kuznetsov Applications of Thermoelectric Cooling Introduction, H.J. Goldsmid Commercial Peltier Modules, K.-I. Uemura Thermoelectrically Cooled Radiation Detectors, L.I. Anatychuk Reliability of Peltier Coolers in Fiber-Optic Laser Packages, R.M. Redstall and R. Studd Laboratory Equipment, K.-I. Uemura Large-Scale Cooling: Integrated Thermoelectric Element Technology, J.G. Stockholm Medium-Scale Cooling: Thermoelectric Module Technology, J.G. Stockholm Modeling of Thermoelectric Cooling Systems, J.G. Stockholm
4,192 citations
TL;DR: A survey of the various types of solar thermal collectors and applications is presented in this paper, where an analysis of the environmental problems related to the use of conventional sources of energy is presented and the benefits offered by renewable energy systems are outlined.
2,620 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the different storage concepts are reviewed and classified, and modellization of such systems is reviewed, and all materials considered in literature or plants are listed. But only a few plants in the world have tested high temperature thermal energy storage systems.
Abstract: Concentrated solar thermal power generation is becoming a very attractive renewable energy production system among all the different renewable options, as it has have a better potential for dispatchability. This dispatchability is inevitably linked with an efficient and cost-effective thermal storage system. Thus, of all components, thermal storage is a key one. However, it is also one of the less developed. Only a few plants in the world have tested high temperature thermal energy storage systems. In this paper, the different storage concepts are reviewed and classified. All materials considered in literature or plants are listed. And finally, modellization of such systems is reviewed.
1,445 citations
TL;DR: In this article, different types of sun tracking systems are reviewed and their pros and cons are discussed and the most efficient and popular sun tracking device was found to be in the form of polar-axis and azimuth/elevation types.
Abstract: Finding energy sources to satisfy the world's growing demand is one of society's foremost challenges for the next half-century. The challenge in converting sunlight to electricity via photovoltaic solar cells is dramatically reducing $/watt of delivered solar electricity. In this context the sun trackers are such devices for efficiency improvement. The diurnal and seasonal movement of earth affects the radiation intensity on the solar systems. Sun-trackers move the solar systems to compensate for these motions, keeping the best orientation relative to the sun. Although using sun-tracker is not essential, its use can boost the collected energy 10–100% in different periods of time and geographical conditions. However, it is not recommended to use tracking system for small solar panels because of high energy losses in the driving systems. It is found that the power consumption by tracking device is 2–3% of the increased energy. In this paper different types of sun-tracking systems are reviewed and their cons and pros are discussed. The most efficient and popular sun-tracking device was found to be in the form of polar-axis and azimuth/elevation types.
770 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, three ionic liquids were chosen for study based on their range of solvent properties and the solvent properties correlate with solubility of water in the ionic liquid.
512 citations