A 5 MW solar tracking photovoltaic plant incorporating 500 10 KWp single axis trackers will be built in Caravaca de la Cruz, Spain. The trackers combined with the plant layout will increase the energy efficiency of the plant 40-45% over a conventional, stationary flat panel installation.
Construction of the plant, scheduled to start in a few weeks, is in two phases, the first phase being 2 MW and the second phase 3 MW. Completion of the entire facility is scheduled for 2008. The plant contractor has built two other similar plants with a total capacity of over 1 MW.
Why do these plants seem more popular in Spain than in other parts of the world? - they have built several other tracking plants. Or am I simply unaware of other tracking plants? Is it strictly their high incentives? Tracking plants pose some potential unreliability due to the mechanical nature of the tracking system which may make some owners wary. The fact that PV plants are more economical than concentrating solar plants in small sizes is the most likely explanation. They seem to be spreading their bets, they are building some large trough concentrating solar plants also.
See the complete story at solarbuzz.
Technocrati tags: solar power, tracking solar, renewable energy
I'm guessing that with the subsidies, the payback period is short enough that they can be confident that the field will pay for itself before anything breaks. Frankly, these projects are cash cows for the owners and an extremely robust investment.
A 40 - 45 % improvement in performance seems high for axial tracking, however. The number should be closer to 30 %. In Murcia you do find a higher slope angle is optimal with tracking. It might not be cost effective to replace the tracking units if they break, however. Just point the units South and let them be.
Given the shortages of PV modules around the world it may be cost effective to use a simple axial tracking system at lower latitudes.
Posted by: Robert McLeod | September 10, 2005 at 02:53 PM
Our company does have the tracking concentrators that effectively increase the yield to up to 60% more. And this just uses ordinary inexpensive silicon panels instead of the super expensive CPV (concentrated photovoltaic) panels.
We have installed up to 4 MW in Spain, 4 MW in the Czech Republic, and other places such as Greece, Germany, in fact all over Europe.
We are also working on a tracking concentrator that increases the yield 3 times vs. the fixed installations, again using off the shelf silicon PV panels.
Please get in touch with me so I can provide you pictures of our installations.
Manny Bade 416-837-1077
Posted by: Solar Knight | July 25, 2009 at 09:09 AM
I'm working on a green house project. I'm really interested by this parabolic trough collector technolgy and I really would like to know if it's reliable for single housing application.
thanks a lot!
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Posted by: Husky air compressor | June 22, 2010 at 04:47 AM