Leo's Zone

Concentrating Solar Power in Action

The parabolic trough technology used in ACCIONA's Nevada Solar One™ plant represents a major renewable energy success story of the past two decades and has the potential to compete directly with conventional fossil fuel powered technologies.

ACCIONA ’s 400-acre, 64 MW Nevada Solar One plant utilizes proprietary tracking technology to concentrate the sun’s rays and track the sun’s location during peak demand hours. The plant employs 760 parabolic concentrators with more than 180,000 mirrors that concentrate the sun’s rays onto 18,240 solar receiver tubes located on their focal line.

A mineral oil heat transfer fluid, which heats up to 735°F, flows through the receiver tubes and is used to produce steam and drive a conventional turbine connected to a generator that produces electricity. The plant produces enough energy to power more than 14,000 households annually.

Technology

• Uses 760 parabolic concentrators and more than 180,000 mirrors that concentrate the suns rays onto 18,240 solar receivers
  • The solar receivers heat a transfer fluid to 735° F, which passes through a heat exchanger, changing water into steam to drive a conventional turbine connected to a generator that produces electricity
  • Utilizes proprietary tracking technology to concentrate the sun’s rays and track the sun’s location during peak demand hours