Page 20 - Design of Solar Thermal Power Plants

1.2 BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO SOLAR THERMAL POWER GENERATION 13

terms of developable and exploitable resources, solar resources are
superior to wind, biomass, geothermal, hydro, and other renewable
energies (Table 1.2); in terms of exploitable areas, solar availability is
broader than that of geothermal, oceanic, and like energies.
2. Environmental influences: extremely low. The entire CSP generation
process doesn’t produce pollutants or greenhouse gases; compared
with conventional fossil fuel power generation, it is a clean energy
utilization form. Meanwhile, during utilization and exploitation of
resources, the ecological environment is not damaged or influenced;
compared with wind, hydro, geothermal, oceanic, and similar
energies, it enjoys the advantage of being environmentally friendly.
Furthermore, by viewing the overall life cycle, energy consumption
level, and environmental influences of the entire process of CSP
generation from equipment manufacturing, to power generation, to
scrapping, it can be seen that they are equivalent to those of other
renewable energy utilization forms. Compared with the
manufacturing and scrapping of solar panels for solar photovoltaic
power generation, CSP generation’s energy consumption and
pollution levels are greatly reduced. The carbon dioxide emissions
of an CSP generation system during its life cycle are extremely low.
Based on 2009 technology, the carbon dioxide emissions of an CSP
plant during its life cycle were about 17 g/kWh, which is far
below those of coal (776 g/kWh) and natural gas combined-cycle
(396 g/kWh) power plants. Thus CSP generation uses renewable
energy power generation and utilization with minimal environmental
impacts.

TABLE 1.2 Exploitation Potentials of Renewable Energy Resources in China [4]
Type Exploitable Resources
Solar energy 1700 billion tons of standard coal
Wind energy 1 billion kW, including 300 million kW on land
Hydroenergy Economically exploitable ¼ 400 million kW
Technically exploitable ¼ 540 million kW
Biomass Biomass power 300 million tons of straw þ 300 million tons of forest
energy generation waste
Liquid fuel 50 million tons
Methane 80 billion m 3
Total e
Geothermal, excluding medium 6 million kW
and low temperature