Page 19 - Design of Solar Thermal Power Plants

12 1. INTRODUCTION

focusing system mainly including solar tower (also known as central
receiver system) and parabolic dish/Stirling solar power generation, and
the line focusing system mainly including parabolic trough and linear
Fresnel reflector solar power generation. In these four forms of CSP
generation technology, parabolic dish/Stirling engine power generation
technology enjoys the highest concentration ratio (1000e3000), followed
by solar tower (300e1000), whereas the line focusing system’s parabolic
trough (70e80) and linear Fresnel reflector (25e100) concentration ratios
are comparatively low.

1.2.1.2 Characteristics of Solar Thermal Power Generation
Technology
CSP generation is by its nature a way to utilize solar thermal energy. Its
generation principle is a clean and green energy utilization method. The
development of CSP generation technology is of great significance for the
sustainable development of human economies and societies. Compared
with other energy utilization methods, CSP generation enjoys certain
unique development advantages:

1. Resource request: always available for use. Compared with other
renewable energies, the solar resource is inexhaustible and always
available for use. China is a nation with extremely abundant solar
resources. Solar irradiation received by its land areas approximates
the equivalent of 1700 billion tons of standard coal, resulting from an
annual sunshine duration that exceeds 2200 h. Total irradiance
2
exceeds 5000 MJ/m that is abundant or comparatively abundant
over a vast area including: Alxa League in western Inner Mongolia
and Ordos, Hexi Corridor in western Gansu, Qinghai, Tibet, and
Hami and Turpan of Xinjiang. Accounting for over two-thirds of the
total area of China, these areas have excellent conditions for solar
energy utilization. In particular, Gansu, Hexi Corridor, Qinghai, and
Tibet possess certain water resources and are sparsely populated,
thus enjoying the potential for development of large-scale CSP
plants. In addition, the Gobi Desert, deserted land, abandoned saline
land, and desert land in western China are vast in area. For example,
the portion of the Hanggin Banner of Inner Mongolia along the
south coast of the Yellow River that is suitable for the development
of CSP generation is as large as 10,000 ha; the area has rich surface
water resources, and construction of a two million-kW CSP plant
with annual power generation of up to 10 billion kWh is possible.
Dunhuang of Gansu has a flat Gobi Desert of over 5000 square
kilometers. After implementation of the “Transferring Water from
Dahaerteng River to Danghe River” project (a water conservancy
project), a one million-kW CSP plant can be constructed. Thus in