Imagine a city where all electrical energy is from clean,
renewable resources. Does this sound
like an implausible idea? Well, this
vision of the future is already in existence today and in one of the most
famous cities in the world – Seville, Spain!
Seville is the fourth largest city in Spain and has been in the global
eye for millennia. It is where Ferdinand
Magellan began the first voyage around the world and where the famous opera Barber of Seville calls home. However, what makes it remarkable today is
that it is almost entirely powered by solar energy!
How It Works
Seville gets over 3,000 hours of sunlight each year, which
makes it a perfect place for solar energy.
The process works by focusing large mirrors called heliostats on a
receiver which heats water into steam as it travels into a drum. This is used to propel massive turbines
creating electrical energy before being condensed back into water and beginning
the trip all over again.
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A
solar tower power plant
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The Solucar Complex
The Solucar Complex is where Seville will get all of its
energy needs from. It uses a wide range
of technologies including solar towers and troughs. As newer technologies are discovered, they
have been incorporated into each new plant within the complex. Its construction began in 2004 and the first
tower, the PS10, began operations in 2007.
History
The PS10 Solar Power Plant was the first completed portion
of the complex, finished in 2007.
Capable of generating 11 MW or approximately 3% of Seville’s power
needs. This plant consists of 624
mirrors that heat water in a central unit and is the world’s first commercial
solar tower.
However, this was nowhere near enough for true power
independence and a progression toward renewable sources. The PS20 Solar Power Plant was added in 2009,
capable of 20 MW. It has double the
number of mirrors and represents the 2nd generation of solar
technology which means that the energy conversion rate is higher as well. It is the most powerful solar tower in the
world.
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The
PS10 and PS20 towers
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Combined, these towers account for 10% of Seville’s power
requirements. As of 2010, the
construction of Solnova 1, 3, and 4 have massively boosted the complex’s
capacity. These are trough style
parabolic mirrors that track the sun as it moves across the daytime sky. Each of the three plants generates 50 MW,
boosting the total capacity of the current complex to 180 MW or 60% of
Seville’s power needs.
Future
There are still three more plants that are set to be
completed in 2013. There is the AZ20, a
solar tower similar to the PS20 that will generate 20 MW of power. There are also the Solova 2 and 5 trough
plants, each with another 50 MW like their predecessors. In all, this brings the total to Seville’s
required 300 MW of power, all from solar energy!
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The
Solnova plants in front of the PS10 and PS20 towers
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Benefits
The Solucar Complex is responsible for the creation of 1,000
jobs in construction and another 300 in operating the various plants. It is estimated that over the course of the
complex’s 25 year life expectancy, it will prevent 600,000 tonnes of carbon
dioxide from entering the atmosphere per year.
This amount of carbon dioxide reduction would be similar to the amount
that could be processed by almost 1.5 million trees!
Abengoa Solar
Abengoa Solar have been involved in the construction and
operation of the Solucar Complex since its inception. They operate a total of five complexes
throughout Spain and one in Algeria.
They are involved in the expansion of these current complexes as well as
new projects in the United States and United Arab Emirates. They are also involved in complex operations
in Chile and Mexico as joint projects with other companies.
The Green Revolution
Many other cities all over the world are joining the
revolution to attain their energy needs from 100% renewable, non-polluting
resources and it doesn’t just stop at solar.
Wind, hydro, and other energy alternatives are constantly being
researched and improved to increase energy conversion rates and to make it
affordable. This is also the plan
followed by new urban planners for new cities and growth.
What makes Seville so unique is that they are actively
building infrastructure for their city rather than buying offsets from other
areas. Essentially, their power grid is
unique for their citizens. As the
sustainable movement continues to evolve, so too will new ideas on how to make
it possible.
Sources: Abengoa
Solar, Andalucia,
Estela
Solar, NREL,
EERE,
Power-Technology,
ENS-Newswire, Indigo Guide, Destination 360, Bytelib
