Three Gorges’ 100 MW Fresnel CSP enters trial operation at Hami in Xingjiang

The 100 MW Fresnel in Gansu by China General Nuclear is the only other Fresnel CSP at this scale worldwide [Ed: This plant incorporates multiple innovations, not only that outside China, Fresnel projects have never been built at this scale, and that even within China, this is only the second ever built at 100MW following …

Concentrated solar heat and hydrogen to decarbonize iron ore processing

Steel production accounts for roughly 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and nearly 70% of that comes from coal-fired blast furnaces; the dominant way the world has made iron for centuries. The Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) could decarbonize steelmaking because it can be powered by renewable electricity. It requires very pure sponge iron. Porous sponge …

Published at Renewable Energy – Design and performance optimization of dual-tower and triple-tower heliostat fields

Abstract: As solar tower systems continue to develop towards larger scales, it is necessary to configure dual-tower and triple-tower fields with higher heat collection capacities. This paper designs and optimizes the performance of dual-tower and triple-tower heliostat fields. Two field arrangement strategies are employed to alter the distance between towers and results show that the …

China General Nuclear’s 100 MW Jixi Tower CSP begins delivering power from freezing Baicheng

CGN’s 100 MW Tower CSP at Jixi base [Ed: This 100 MW CSP Tower project at Jixi, Baicheng is one of two 100 MW Tower CSP plants to be connected to one of China’s Ultra High Voltage (UHV) DC lines, the Lugu line, for extremely long-distance transmission of renewable energy. The 1.4GW New Energy park at …

Published at Nature Energy – The PAINT database for operational concentrating solar power plant data following FAIR data principles

Abstract: Integrating renewable energy is critical for maintaining grid stability while striving towards global climate goals. Concentrating solar power tower plants offer a promising solution but their competitiveness is currently hindered by high operational costs, limited data availability and slow adoption of emerging technologies. To address these barriers, here we introduce PAINT, a FAIR (findable, …

China General Nuclear introduces novel high temperature Trough with Tower CSP in Qinghai

The 350MW solar project at Delingha solar park in Qinghai by CGN will combine 3 Towers with Trough CSP [Ed: Till now, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) using parabolic Trough technology has been limited in efficiency by the temperature limit of the heat transfer oil to around 400°C. Tower CSP with molten salts can achieve 565°C …

Published at Ceramics International – Upcycling copper slag into high-performance spinel-based ceramics with integrated solar absorption and storage

Abstract: Solid solar absorption/storage material (SSAM) is the crucial component for next generation concentrating solar power (CSP) system, which could promote global carbon neutrality. However, the comprehensive absorption/storage performance of SSAM at low cost has not been realized, thereby hindering its practical application. To address this problem, Fe/Si-rich copper slag, as abundant solid waste, was …

Questions about China’s recent surge in CSP? Here are some answers

With China’s massive state-owned enterprises (SOE) like China General Nuclear, PowerChina and Three Gorges (famous for the 22MW dam) completing 26 full-scale concentrated solar power (CSP) projects in the last few years, and with even more than that under construction, the country is the new global leader in CSP deployment. I have many questions, like …