14 October 2011
The technology is known as
concentrated solar power and is, for the production of district
heating, a system of parabolic mirrors that concentrates the sun's
rays onto a pipeline, which runs through the parabolic trough's
burning point. The concentration of solar energy heats the water
that is pumped through the pipes up to the desired temperature
(80-95 degrees) and directly or indirectly into the district
heating circuit.
The parabolic troughs use a custom designed sun tracking
technology, where a computer calculates and calibrates the troughs
into the required position for receiving the optimal radiation of
sunrays throughout the day, opposed to the traditional solar panels
that are mounted into a fixed position. The parabolic troughs can
therefore deliver constant higher temperatures than solar
panels.
Moreover, the parabolic troughs can defocus the energy if there is
too much hot water in the storage tank in contrast to the solar
panel systems where the district heating distributer is forced to
pump cold water into the system when the storage tank is full. In
this sense, there is therefore no energy loss.
The first CSP plant will be installed at Thisted Varmeforsyning, a
district heating distributer which has won national and
international recognition for being a pioneer in the field of
producing emission free district heating. The CSP system will be
launched in the beginning of 2012 and will deliver hot water with
fixed prices for the consumers in the municipality of Thisted. The
only overheads are self-evident installment payment and the very
limited maintenance. One of the advantages of the CSP system is
that consumers and distributers do not have to worry about rising
fuel prices, as the fuel has been prepaid for the next 30 years
with solar energy. The technology is therefore profitable for both
the environment and the private economy and will become more so as
time goes by.
Read more about the CSP plant
for district heating.
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