World's most efficient solar electricity system?

M

Milano

Honorary Master
Joined
Feb 7, 2004
Messages
16,752
Could this be the world's most efficient solar electricity system?

Using military technology and a zero-emission engine invented by a 19th-century Scot, Swedish firm seeks to revolutionise solar energy production

A new solar electricity generation system that developers claim is the most efficient in the world, is being tested in South Africa’s Kalahari desert.

The Swedish company behind the project - which combines military technology with an idea developed by a 19th-century Scottish engineer and clergyman - says it is on the verge of building its first commercial installation.

In the remote Northern Cape province, huge mirrors reflect the sun across the brown Kalahari sand. This is the test site for Swedish company Ripasso, which is using the intense South African sun and local manufacturing know-how to develop their cutting-edge kit.

“Our whole team in South Africa has been hired locally, and our new systems have all been built with local South African labour. It works great,” says CEO Gunnar Larsson.

This is the only working small-scale concentrated solar energy system of its kind in the world. 34% of the sun’s energy hitting the mirrors is converted directly to grid-available electric power, compared to roughly half that for standard solar panels. Traditional photovoltaic panels are able to turn about 23% of the solar energy that strikes them into electricity, but this is cut to around 15% before it is usable by the grid.

South African site manager Jean-Pierre Fourie, whose team have been testing the system for the past four years. Facebook Twitter Pinterest
South African site manager Jean-Pierre Fourie, whose team have been testing the system for the past four years. Photograph: Jeffrey Barbee
Jean-Pierre Fourie is Ripasso’s South African site manager. His crew has been testing the system in the Kalahari under harsh desert conditions for four years. “What we hope is to become one of the biggest competitors for renewable energy in the world.”

Advertisement

The massive 100 square metre dishes slowly rotate, following the sun. Light clicks and taps fill the still desert air as they constantly adjust to capture the maximum solar energy.

Independent tests by IT Power in the UK confirm that a single Ripasso dish can generate 75 to 85 megawatt hours of electricity a year - enough to power 24 typical UK homes. To make the same amount of electricity by burning coal would mean releasing roughly 81 metric tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Paul Gauche, director of the Solar Thermal Energy Research Group at the University of Stellenbosch has visited the test site many times. “The technology looks good to me. I’ve seen it working and I believe it meets the efficiency goals. The technology is proven with years of performance in the navy.”

He points out that it will be crucial to keep costs low enough to compete with photovoltaics, a significant challenge as their price falls every year. The system is also limited in that it is only useful in areas with consistent bright sunshine.

The technology works by using the mirrors as giant lenses that focus the sun’s energy to a tiny hot point, which in turn drives a zero-emission Stirling engine.

The Stirling engine was developed by Reverend Robert Stirling in Edinburgh in 1816 as an alternative to the steam engine. It uses alternate heating and cooling of an enclosed gas to drive pistons, which turn a flywheel. Because of the material limitations at the time, the engine was not commercially developed until 1988, when Swedish defence contractor Kokums started making them for submarines.

The dishes constantly move and adjust in order to follow the sun. Facebook Twitter Pinterest
The dishes constantly move and adjust in order to follow the sun. Photograph: Jeffrey Barbee
Larsson worked in the Swedish defence industry for 20 years and realised what a clean and efficient generator could mean for renewable energy systems.

Advertisement

He wanted to bring the technology from the depths of the ocean into the sunshine, so he resigned as CEO of Kokums and licensed the technology to start Ripasso.

“When I founded the company in 2008 my youngest son came to me and said, wow daddy I am so proud of you, now I can tell everyone what you are doing, you are going to save the world instead of destroying it.”

The project has not been without its troubles. “Our major challenge over the last couple of years has been to get the technology accepted by the financing community, especially from the banks,” says Larsson.

Although banks have been unwilling to finance such novel technology, Ripasso has now secured private funding to begin their first large-scale installation. “We are very ready to head into the commercial phase,” says Larsson.
Click to expand...

http://www.theguardian.com/environm...orlds-most-efficient-solar-electricity-system
 
itareanlnotani

itareanlnotani

Executive Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2008
Messages
6,760
IMHO old news thats been rehashed, guess they're looking for funding..
Same exact information in 2012 http://social.csptoday.com/technology/ripasso-energy-sets-new-solar-electricity-world-record

While efficient CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) is admirable, cost per kw/hr is the usual driver.

Cheapest is Wind. (mid R50's)
Next is Solar. (mid R60's
Next is Coal (mid R90's) and that doesn't count external costs like pollution, mining, water usage. Medupi is set to drive that average up far far high also.
Landfill gas is similarly priced (mid R90's)
CSP is somewhere in the R1.2/kwhr
Diesel (which we're using to run the gas turbines @ R3+ kwhr)
Not sure where Hydro sits.


Currently it makes sense to install as much Wind, Solar as possible to reduce our billion dollar monthly Diesel usage.
CSP and CSP with storage would be nice also.

CSP, Wind, Solar running costs are as close to free as you can get, and don't emit any pollutants.

All three are incredibly fast to build, scale well too.


Instead, we get a coal plant thats years past its original build date, hasn't got the scrubbers that the World Bank mandated were included in order to get funding. F_ck you very much world bank for funding whats going to be a huge polluter for years to come...

Its becoming incredibly clear to all and sundry in the industry, that the future is not coal or nuclear.

Wind, Solar, CSP with Storage, Hydro, existing Nuclear, and some Coal (to be phased out eventually) will probably be the generation landscape of the future (2050)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top