torresol energy press dossier

TORRESOL ENERGY

PRESS DOSSIER 2014

www.torresolenergy.com

Torresol Energy the future of solar thermal energy

Gemasolar the world´s most innovative commercial solar plant

Valle 1 and Valle 2 Spain’s largest ever sequential construction of dual solar power plants

Picture in the cover: Gemasolar solar plant, owned by Torresol Energy, Copyright SENER.

INDEX: Gemasolar and Valle 1 & Valle 2 plants operation schemes.

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Further information:

Oihana Casas. SENER Corporate Communication.

Tel.: +34 918077318 Mobile : +34 679 314 085

Email: [email protected]

4- Press Dossier 2014

Torresol Energy, the future of solar thermal energy

Torresol Energy has as mission to promote technological development, construction, operation and maintenance of large Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants around the world.

Each of Torresol Energy’s new projects will introduce and test new technologies to make concentrated solar energy an economically competitive option and a real, viable, ecological and sustainable alternative to traditional energy sources. Conserving the environment for future generations is one of Torresol Energy’s main commitments.

Torresol Energy has begun by focusing on three projects in the South of Spain: the innovative 19.9 MW CSP Gemasolar plant, which is the first commercial plant in the world to use molten salt thermal storage in a central tower configuration with a heliostat field located in Fuentes de Andalucía, Seville, and that started commercial operations in May 2011. Torresol Energy’s other two projects include two 50 MW twin plants and use parabolic trough technology located in Cadiz (Spain). These two projects started commercial operations in January 2012.

Besides, Torresol Energy created the company, Torresol O&M, which specializes in the operation of solar thermal plants using central tower technology or parabolic trough collectors. Torresol O&M’s expertise in the solar thermal area over the past few years stems from the highly specialized team of professionals in the company.

Along with these three projects in Spain, Torresol Energy is actively seeking opportunities to promote new solar thermal plants in other countries. In this sense, the company’s main areas of action for designing, constructing and commissioning of CSP plants are Southern Europe, including Spain, Northern Africa, the Middle East and the South West belt in the United States.

Press Dossier 2014 - 5


Gemasolar, the world´s most innovative commercial solar plantTorresol Energy, developer and operator of concentrated solar power plants, has constructed the Gemasolar plant in the town of Fuentes de Andalucía in the province of Seville, Spain. Gemasolar is the first plant in the world to apply an innovative technology on a commercial scale. Torresol Energy is partly owned by the engineering and technology group SENER.

Gemasolar is the first commercial concentrated solar power plant with central tower receiver and molten salt storage technology. Its efficiency is significantly superior to other thermoelectric solar plants in commercial operation today. Highlighted among its many innovations are the molten salt receiver, the heliostat pointing mechanism and the control system. Furthermore, the plant has a storage system which allows it to continue producing electricity for 15 hours without sunlight, meaning it can continue to operate during the night or during cloudy weather. Thanks to this storage capacity, a clean source of energy such as solar energy can become manageable, and capable of responding to the grid’s demand.

Thus, this plant represents a starting point for the cost reduction strategy in the thermosolar energy sector, one of Torresol Energy’s key objectives in converting this clean energy into a solid alternative to fossil-fuel energies. Gemasolar, a plant with 19.9 MW power, is capable of supplying 110 GWh of clean, safe energy annually, to supply 27,500 households. Furthermore, the plant is capable of reducing annual CO2 emissions by more than 30,000 tons.

Besides, the plant’s most cutting-edge equipment has been developed by SENER. This company has been responsible for leading the EPC and commissioning works of the plant as well as for supplying all the technology for Gemasolar and the basic and detail engineering design.

System OperationConcentrated solar power uses direct solar radiation: mirrors concentrate the sun’s rays at a point around which fluid is circulating. In turn, the heat in this fluid is used to generate water steam, which moves a turbine. In central tower plants, the heliostats (flat mirrors) reflect solar radiation onto a receiver located at the top of a tower in which the fluid is flowing.

In this innovative plant developed with SENER’s technology, this hot fluid not only generates steam, but it also stores surplus heat in tanks containing molten nitrate salts. In the tower, these salts are used directly as the heat absorption fluid: they flow from the cold tank, by means of a pump, to the receiver at the top of the tower, where they are heated to a temperature of 565 °C, after which they descend to the heat exchanger where they generate steam. When excess energy is received, i.e., when the received heat radiation is more than enough to cover the demands of the turbine, a part of these salt is stored in a hot tank, which can store heat allowing it to be used at times with low solar radiation, when the plant does not receive enough heat to generate steam directly. The stored salt can then supply this heat and continue generating steam.


Solar FieldThe solar field is composed of 2,650 heliostats, which were assembled in just 7 months. These heliostats are distributed in concentric rings around the tower, with the furthest heliostat approximately 1 km from the tower. Each heliostat consists of a 120 m2 reflective surface, which is continually repositioned throughout the day, depending on the position of the sun and the weather conditions (wind, clouds, etc.). To function correctly, this solar concentration technique requires a very high degree of pointing precision, which is achieved with a high-precision, two-axis actuation mechanism in every heliostat. These mechanisms are characterized not only by their high degree of precision, but also by their high load capacity, low maintenance, reliability, and long service life. Due to the quantity, their effect on the operation of the plant, and their resulting impact on energy production, these two-axis actuation mechanisms are a critical component of this type of plant with a central receiver tower.

At Gemasolar, SENER has designed, manufactured, and supplied the high performance, two-axis actuation mechanism in every heliostat. The total supply for Gemasolar has been possible thanks to SENER’s new Integration and Testing installations and the team of professionals who dealt with production peaks of more than 400 units per month.

Central Tower and ReceiverThe Gemasolar tower is 140 meters high and boasts a unique element: a high-efficiency cylindrical receiver, located at the top of the tower, which has been designed and patented by SENER. The Gemasolar receiver is capable of absorbing 95% of radiation in the solar spectrum and of transmitting this energy to the molten salt compound that circulates in its interior.

Gemasolar’s Main Advantages

• High thermal storage capacity: - Due to the storage system, the turbine operation is not immediately affected by a cloud or by a sudden high speed wind. A cloud will affect the production 6 to 15 hours later. - The turbine will not stop every night, which extends its service life. - The turbine power can be managed. The time to supply the grid can be chosen, whether to reduce the output during the night, at valley time or to increase it during times of peak demand. - It maximises the asset’s utilization. At Gemasolar, production is expected to reach 6,450 hr/yr, thereby maximizing profitability.

• Low operational risk:- No mobile piping system and no thermal oil. - All fluids are concentrated in a small area, which reduces thermal loses and maintenance costs. - The same fluid is used for both heat transfer and storage, resulting in less thermal exchange.

• Highest cycle efficiency: - The molten salt reaches extremely high temperatures, which maximizes thermodynamic efficiency.



Recognition and AwardsGemasolar has awakened a great interest among political authorities, both national and foreign: representatives from the governments of the European Union, United States, Australia, and the Arab League have requested visits to its facilities during construction and information on its progress.

Gemasolar has also been recognized with several national and international awards, from the DESERTEC Award 2014 to the Award of Merit in the Major civil engineering projects category from the International Federation of Consulting Engineers FIDIC, the US CSP Today award in the ‘Commercialized Technology Innovation USA 2011’ category, to the European Awards for Sustainable Energy 2011, where Gemasolar was a finalist in the Production category, an award for projects related to renewable energy generation or efficient energy production. In 2012, Gemasolar was a finalist project in the European Business Awards for the Environment.

In addition, its activity in the municipality of Fuentes de Andalucia contributed to the City Hall receiving the Clean Technology Recognition in the XVII edition of the Ones Mediterrània awards, which are awarded every year by the Mediterrània-CIE foundation.

Besides, Torresol Energy has obtained the CSP Today Seville award in the CSP Dispatchability Solution category both in 2012 and in 2013.

In the same vein, SENER has won the top prize for Innovation in the 2011 European Business Awards, thanks to Gemasolar and also received the European Business Awards for the Environment/Basque Division for this project, being awarded in the category of Sustainable Development Process. Recently, SENER has also won the Engineering of the Year award in the first edition of The European Energy Awards 2013 granted by The European magazine.

Local Community RelationshipsSince the beginning of this project, Torresol Energy has cooperated closely with the City Hall of Fuentes de Andalucía, as well as with social actors in the local community. This has led to initiatives that promote a culture of renewable energy in the municipality, through events, lectures, school competitions, and guided tours to the plant. In addition, this renewable energy project has created nearly 1,800 direct jobs during its construction and relies on 50 qualified jobs for its operation and maintenance. More than half of these jobs have been covered by residents of the Seville municipality, who have intensely experienced the entire Gemasolar construction process.

True to its founding commitment to protect the environment for future generations, Torresol Energy has sought to be, through Gemasolar, an active player in sustainable development for Fuentes de Andalucía. This same philosophy can be applied in all its projects, both in the Valle 1 and Valle 2 plants, located in San José del Valle, in Cádiz, and in future projects of the company.


Valle 1 and Valle 2, Spain's largest ever sequential construction of dual solar power plants

Valle 1 and Valle 2 plants, two identical 50 MWe parabolic trough plants, are the second and third projects of Torresol Energy. Located in San Jose del Valle (Cadiz, Spain), both plants are equipped with thermal storage which allows them to continue producing electricity, at nominal power, even when there is no solar radiation for up to 7.5 hours. The technology used in the plants has thereby turned solar power into a source of manageable energy capable of supplying electricity to networks based on demand, regardless of whether it is day or night or if the weather is cloudy.

Construction on Valle 1 and Valle 2 officially began in December 2009, and was completed in December 2011. Commercial operations of the plants started in January 2012. The installation of the twin plants covers 400 hectares and represents 1 million sqm of mirrors. Each of these plants, with 50 MWe power, is capable of supplying 160 GWh of clean, safe energy annually for 40,000 households. Together, the two plants will cut CO2 emissions by 90,000 tons/year.

From the outset, the two plants were built sequentially, representing a milestone in the solar power industry. The aim of this sequential construction was to improve the schedule and budget of the works. This has taken a great effort in coordination of supplies as well as in quality control of execution and planning and supervision of construction as work progresses. The construction schedule has been extraordinary, with 120 collectors assembled and installed per day.

Both plants use the latest trough technology - the SENERtrough® parabolic trough collector system. The solar radiation is concentrated onto a central collector pipe through which thermal oil runs. The pipes are fitted with high-precision optical sensors that follow the sun’s movement. The hot oil vaporizes water in a steam turbine which then drives an electrical generator that injects the energy into the grid.

The SENERtrough® system has improved the mechanical characteristics of the troughs and its main achievements include a significant lower steel weight and fewer assembly hours required than similar collectors. This is significant, considering a standard 50 MW solar plant uses 90,000 m of parabolic troughs, comprising about 15,000 tons of steel.

To improve the technology and thereby reduce the investment costs of these plants, the Valle 1 and Valle 2 projects have been testing new prototypes of SENER in-house technology, such as a single-tank thermal storage system and a loop with the SENERtrough®-2 collector system. These are meant to improve the efficiency of future commercial plants. In particular, the single-tank thermal storage system simplifies the design of the molten salt storage system, achieving a reduction in storage costs. In turn, the SENERtrough®-2 system allows a 20% reduction in the number of loops required in a parabolic trough plant, while maintaining the same efficiency of the plant’s performance. It cuts down the cost of the solar field.



Valle 1 and Valle 2 represent a total investment value of 700M€, the largest private outlay made to date in the province of Cadiz. In 2009, Torresol Energy secured 540M€ project finance loans for the construction of these plants. This financing received one of the most important prizes in the field of structured financing in Europe - the ‘Deal of the Year 2009’ award in the ‘Clean Technology’ category, as part of the Project Finance Deal of the Year awards given by the Euromoney agency.

It should also be noted that roughly 4,500 workers worked over 2,700,000 hours to build and launch the twin projects. Once in operation, the plants require 100 specialised professionals to manage operations (figures supported in the Deloitte study ‘Macroeconomic impact of the Solar Thermal Electricity Industry in Spain’ published in 2011).

Valle 1 and Valle 2 were connected to the grid at the beginning of 2012.

Gemasolar: how it works

La luz solar incide sobre los heliostatos reflejándola hacia el receptor, situado en lo alto de la torre.Solar light is refl ected by the heliostats towards the receiver, located on top of the tower.

Las sales, a 290ºC, son bombeadas desde el tanque frío hasta el receptor.Molten salts, at 290ºC, are pumped from the cold molten salt tank to the receiver.

En el tanque de sales calientes se almacenan las sales fundidas a muy alta temperatura.The hot molten salt tank keeps the energy accumulated in form of molten salts at very high temperature.

Desde el tanque caliente las sales son conducidas al sistema de generación de vapor donde ceden calor y se enfrían.The hot molten salts are delivered to the steam generation system, where they transfer their heat to the water, reducing their temperature.

Las sales al enfriarse generan vapor de agua a alta presión para mover la turbina.The heat transferred transforms the water into high pressure steam to move the turbine.

La turbina mueve un generador eléctrico produciendo energía.The turbine powers the electric generator producing electrical energy.

La energía producida en el generador es conducida a un transformador eléctrico para ser inyectada a la red.The electricity is delivered to a transformer to be injected into the distribution grid.

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Dentro del receptor de torre, las sales son calentadas hasta 565ºC antes de ser almacenadas en el tanque de sales calientes.Inside the receiver, molten salts are heated up to 565ºC before being stored in the hot molten salt tank.

Heliostatos / Heliostats

Tanque 1 / Tank 1

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Torre / Tower

Tanque 2 / Tank 2

Generador de vapor / Steam Generator

Turbina / Turbine

Generador eléctrico / Electric Generator

Transformador / Electrical Transformer

Funcionamiento de Gemasolar

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ficha-funcionamiento-gemasolar.ai 1 29/09/2011 18:58:03ficha-funcionamiento-gemasolar.ai 1 29/09/2011 18:58:03

Gemasolar: Datos destacadosGemasolar: key figures

Primera

First

First worldwide commercial application

of this new CSP technology

First high temperature solar receiver with

molten salt

First CSP plant with 15 hours of thermal storage

Tower height 140 m

Total reflective area 304,750 m2

Surface area of the solar field 195 Ha

Turbine power capacity 19.9 MWe

Capacity factor 75%

Number of heliostats2,650

Receiver thermal power120 MWt

Thermal storage capacity(equivalent hours of turbine operation)15 h

Annual energy generation110 GWh

CO2 emission savings30,000

Primera planta comercial en el mundo con

tecnología CSP

Primer receptor solar de alta temperatura

en sales fundidas

Primera planta CSP con 15 horas

de almacenamiento térmico

Altura de la Torre

Área reflectante total

Superficie del campo solar

Potencia nominal de la turbina

Capacidad de utilización

Número de heliostatos

Potencia térmica receptor

Capacidad de almacenamiento térmico

Generación anual de electricidad

Ahorro de emisión de CO2 t/yeart/año

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Infografia DINA4.ai 1 29/09/2011 18:51:27Infografia DINA4.ai 1 29/09/2011 18:51:27

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Valle 1 and Valle 2: how they work

La radiación solar incide sobre los captadores cilindroparabólicos, que la concentran en el tubo central por el que circula un fluido que se calienta a muy alta temperatura. Este fluido denominado genéricamente HTF (Heat Transfer Fluid) es, en este caso, de composición similar al aceite.Solar radiation beams on the SENERtrough® collectors which concentrate said radiation in the central tube through which fluid heated to very high temperatures circulates. This fluid, generically called HTF (Heat Transfer Fluid), is in this case similar to oil in composition.

El HTF es bombeado, a través del sistema de tuberías, al generador de vapor donde cede su calor para vaporizar agua.The HTF is pumped through the piping system to the steam generator, where it transfers its heat to vaporize water.

La turbina está conectada a un alternador que genera energía eléctrica.The turbine is connected to an alternator that generates electric power.

El vapor de agua producido a alta presión mueve la turbina.The steam produced under high pressure is used to move the turbine.

Captadores cilindroparabólicos / SENERtrough® collectors

Generador de vapor / Steam generator system

Turbina de vapor / Steam turbine

Transformador eléctrico / Electrical transformer

Funcionamiento de Valle 1 y Valle 2

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5El vapor, que sale de la turbina, se condensa transformándose en agua que se incorpora nuevamente al ciclo.The steam released from the turbine condenses into water that is again incorporated into the cycle.

Condensador / Condenser

Las torres de refrigeración proporcionan el enfriamiento necesario para condensar el vapor de salida de la turbina.Cooling towers provide the cooling needed to condense the steam turbine exhaust.

Cuando existe un exceso de energía térmica en el campo solar, se almacena. Esto se consigue derivando parte del HTF caliente hacia el intercambiador, donde en contacto con las sales le transfiere su calor.When there is excess thermal energy in the solar field, it is stored. This is done by diverting some of the heated HTF to the exchanger, where it comes into contact with the salts, transferring its heat to them.

La caldera se utiliza para el mantenimiento de la temperatura del HTF del campo solar.The HTF boiler is used to maintain the temperature of the HTF of the solar field.

8.1 Para la carga del almacenamiento, las sales frías se bombean desde el tanque de sales frías al intercambiador térmico donde el HTF las calienta. A continuación, las sales se almacenan en el tanque de sales calientes.8.2 Durante la descarga, las sales calientes almacenadas son bombeadas al mismo intercambiador térmico para calentar el HTF y continuar generando electricidad incluso en periodos en los que no se dispone de radiación solar.8.1 To fill up the storage system, cold salt is pumped from the cold-salt tank to the heat exchanger, where the HTF heats it. The salts are then stored in the hot-salt tank.8.2 During discharge, the stored hot salt is pumped to the same heat exchanger to heat the HTF and continue generating electricity even during periods when there is no solar radiation.

Torres de refrigeración / Cooling towers

Intercambiador térmico / Heat exchanger

Sistema de almacenamiento térmico / Thermal storage system

Caldera / HTF boiler

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ficha-funcionamiento valle 1 y valle 2.ai 1 09/01/2013 16:37:42

La mayor construcción secuencial de dos

plantas solares en España

Un hito dentro del sector solar

La mayor construcción secuencial de dos plantas solares en España

Un hito dentro del sector solar

Spain’s largest ever sequential construction of dual solar power plants

Representing a milestone in the solar power industry

Valle 1 y Valle 2: datos destacados

Valle 1 and Valle 2:

1,000,000 m2

+1,500 Km

400 Ha

50 MWe

7.5 h

160 GWh

4,000 h

atnalp rop anibrut al ed lanimon aicnetoPTurbine power capacity per plant

Captadores SENERtrough® SENERtrough® parabolic trough

collector system

ocimrét otneimanecamla ed dadicapaCThermal storage capacity

Generación anual de electricidad por planta Annual energy generation per plant

Producción anual por planta Annual production per plant

Ahorro de emisión de CO2 por planta/añoCO2 emission savings per plant/year+45,000 t

ficha datos valle 1 y valle 2.ai 1 09/01/2013 14:04:18

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