Seville Solar Station, Southern Spain
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK 
on 05. 4.07
The BBC were lucky enough to be given a tour of the new solar power station in Spain. The station has 600 mirrors which focus sunlight onto water pipes at the top of a 40 storey tall concrete tower. The strength of the reflected light is so great that water vapour and dust in the air is illuminated.
David Shukman, BBC science correspondent, says, "The effect is to give the whole place a glow - even an aura - and if you're concerned about climate change that may well be deserved."
The light from these 600 mirrors heat water, turning it to steam which is used to drive a turbine and generate electricity. The plant is the first commercial solar station in Europe, generating 11 Megawatts according to it's operators, Solucar. This is set to rise though, as the plant is not finished - thousands more mirrors will be added to the 600 already installed.
The energy produced by this plant is three times more expensive than that produced by coal and gas power plants, which seems like a bargain to me. Clean solar power produced on this scale is a truly impressive achievment, and plants like this should be built wherever possible. :: BBC
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- How to Use a Solar Oven: Beans and Rice Recipe
- 7 Great Weekend Solar Power Projects
- How to Use a Solar Cooker: What Works and What Doesn't
- 5 Reuses for Altoid Tins
- The Week's Best DIY Projects: Kid-Friendly Coloring Books, Energy-Saving Chargers, and Woven Coasters
- Find Your Dinner at the Farmers' Market: Peas and Prosciutto
I heard it's even more competitive with the peaker plants that would normally be used around the time of day that this plant produces power....
Hi guys,
here http://nonhovoglia.blogspot.com/2007/05/nuova-centrale-solare-in-spagna.html
you find the italian version of your article. Really interesting
I wonder what happens to birds when they fly into this thing?
Is the last paragraph a typo?
Why does energy from this source cost THREE TIMES more than coal and gas?
Is this cost difference only temporary due to research and development costs?
--
editor note: The price of solar energy has fallen by orders of magnitudes in the past decades, and it keeps falling, but it is not quite as low as coal and gas at this point. Part of it is because coal and gas externalize many of their costs to society as a whole (pollution, global warming, etc) and get subsidies.
The high cost of the power generated by this plant was expected to begin with. This is because this is the first such power plant to be built and thus the present costs include the R&D on the project's design itself. As this plant is expanded and other plants are constructed (there's even talk of putting millions of mirrors in the Sahara), the overall cost will drop.
I don't understand why such a plant isn't being built here. Oh, wait, yes I do- we have a Texas oil man in the Oval Office.
Does this work out as more or less cost effective than a Solar Panel project with a similar budget?
(I'm guessing more)
If we built dozens of these plants here the extra cost would stay right here in America and go to Americans. It would help our economy not fund our enemies.
why not use salt water and
de-salinate it at the same time?
Really Interesting article.
Spain is now really embracing the concept of solar power and with areas in Andalucia like Seville and Malaga receiving over 320 days sunshine a year it looks like Spain is the perfect Harnesser of this most renewable of energy sources.