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When you think about humanity’s impact on the climate, images of airplane and car exhaust fumes may spring to mind. Yet aviation and cars only account for 2% and 6% of global carbon emissions, respectively. Another sector — which hardly anyone ever talks about — has higher emissions than both of these put together, accounting …
Reverse osmosis is one of the most common methods for purifying saline water, but the process produces limited results. About 20% to 50% of the water that enters the system remains as a concentrated waste stream. There are several existing methods for handling concentrate streams, including injecting the waste into isolated underground wells and using …
Continue reading “Harnessing the sun to purify concentrated waste streams”
Demand for electrical energy in Spain fell by 3.8% in July: wind energy produced 37.9%, concentrated solar power 3.5% and photovoltaic 7.9% The demand for electrical energy decreased in the Balearic Islands by 26.8% and in the Canary Islands by 9.4% compared to the same month of 2019.Solar photovoltaic produced 89.9% more than in July …
Continue reading “Demand for electrical energy in Spain falls 3.8% in July”
Engineers at Dartmouth have received a three-year $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a new high-temperature tubing material for a concentrated solar power (CSP) system using a patented alloy developed at Dartmouth that could both increase efficiency and decrease the cost of harnessing and storing solar energy. The researchers will …
Continue reading “Dartmouth receives DOE funding to develop concentrated solar power system”
Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure has exercised its right to buy out the tax equity investor in the 280-MW Solana concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Arizona. The company says in its financial report for the second quarter of 2020 that it made use of the option on July 17. It expects to invest an estimated EUR …
Firms set to build on 4th phase success with the installation of 900MW of photovoltaic and concentrated solar power at the site. Shanghai Electric Group has been appointed as the engineering, construction and procurement (EPC) contractor for the fifth phase project of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai. The Solar Park …
Continue reading “Shanghai Electric wins EPC contract for 5th phase project of Dubai solar park”
IMAGE@SolarDynamics flex hose test One conundrum for the two main Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies is how to be both bankable and efficient. Parabolic trough CSP is often considered more bankable, while central tower plants are more efficient. Trough technology is about a decade older than tower and has built up experienced supply chains, making …
Continue reading “Promising Test Results for Molten Salts in Trough CSP”
The owners of the remnants of developer SolarReserve and the Crescent Dunes concentrated solar power project, Tonopah Solar Energy and Cobra Energy, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to a case filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The ill-fated project is the 110-MW Crescent Dunes in Tonopah, Nevada, …
Pinjarra Alumina refinery in Australia IMAGE@Alcoa Commercializing alumina refining using solar heat Approximately 27% of Australia’s industrial carbon emissions come from alumina refineries, in which fossil fuels are burned to heat the processes. But concentrated solar thermal (CST) could provide up to half of the heat needed. Australian researchers have for the first time demonstrated …
Continue reading “Australian Researchers Assess the Commercial Viability of Solar Alumina Calcining”
All concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies use a mirror configuration to concentrate the sun’s light energy onto a receiver and convert it into heat. The heat can then be used to create steam to drive a turbine to produce electrical power or used as industrial process heat. Concentrating solar power plants can integrate thermal energy …
Continue reading “How Concentrated Solar Power Works: Tower, Trough, Fresnel or Dish”