CSP Power Plants

Senior Berghöfer has supplied components out of its range of solar thermal products since the start of developments and construction of the first US solar power plants in the Mojave desert at Harper Lake and Kramer Junction in 1986, and the new power plants of Andasol in Spain and Solar One in Nevada, USA.

As a system supplier to solar thermal power plants, Senior Berghöfer delivers metal bellows into the HCE and flexible metal hoses as connections to the same.

In order to achieve cost savings, Senior Berghöfer has developed special metal expansion joints for the compensation of thermal expansion in the cross-over lines and the main lines.

Being a most reliable partner, Senior Berghöfer accompanies all new developments (thermo-oil and direct steam) to meet the requirements to those new technologies.

More information on product solutions for solar thermal power plants can be found in the internal area.

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How does a CSP Power plant works?

Parabolic trough power plants are principally working like conventional steam power plants. The only difference is that the steam turbines are not driven by combustion of fossil fuels, but using sun energy instead. At first the heat energy of the sun is used to heat up a synthetic heat transfer oil to 400 °C. Through heat exchangers, the hot oil is then heating up steam to drive the turbines of the power plant.

Parabolic trough power plants therefore combine high-grade environmental friendliness and best possible efficiency in applying solar energy today.

Parabolic trough power plants have been successfully in service in California since 1985 and already supplied more than 12 billion kilowatt hours of solar power. 50% of the entire solar energy produced world-wide so far have been generated by those parabolic trough power plants.



source: SolarMillennium

Advantages – profitability and energy efficiency

Parabolic trough power plants represent today´s most efficient and competitive technology of converting sun energy into electric power that has been tested on a large-scale basis.

A net efficiency of converting solar radiation into electric power of 20% during the summer months and 14% on an average over the year has been evidenced at the already existing three Californian plants. In addition, according to the latest World Bank survey parabolic trough power plants bear a cost reduction potential of up to 50%. As comparison: standard photovoltaic systems only reach an average efficiency of 8 – 10% in southern countries.

To summarize all advantages:

- Operational experience for many years
- High design reliability, low fault liability
- Exact knowledge of the cost structure during operation of the power plant
- Most competitive solar technology available at present
- Easy upgrading of extant steam power plants by integrating a solar field