Solar

Major Milestone Achieved at Concentrated Solar Plant

AREVA announced that on Nov. 29 the first steam production was achieved at the concentrated solar power (CSP) plant it is constructing near Dhursar in the state of Rajasthan, India.

The plant is Asia’s largest CSP installation and will be operated by Reliance Power. The 100-MW plant was approved for carbon credits in July under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will allow the project to generate and sell Certified Emission Reductions internationally, translating into direct revenues for Reliance Power.

“The project is part of India’s energy program, which aims to install 20,000 MW of solar power capacity in the country by 2022,” said Sam Shakir, CEO of AREVA Solar. “This plant built by AREVA will avoid approximately 557,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year compared to a similar sized coal-fired power plant.”



1. 1st steam production milestone achieved on Nov. 29, 2013, near Dhursar, Rajasthan, India. Courtesy: AREVA

The plant utilizes AREVA’s compact linear Fresnel reflector technology, which uses modular, flat mirrors to focus the sun’s heat onto long, elevated “receivers.” The receivers consist of a system of boiler tubes through which water flows. The concentrated sunlight boils the water in the tubes, generating saturated and superheated solar steam for use in power generation steam applications, thereby generating electricity.

The initial steam operation is a critical step in the plant’s connection to the electrical grid as part of the ongoing commissioning process. Commercial operation is planned for March 2014. The power will be sold to NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam through a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement.

–Aaron Larson, associate editor (@AaronL_Power, @POWERmagazine)

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