The electricity has become an indispensable element of today’s society. Demand is growing continuously and the production is still based on limited sources of energy such as coal and petroleum derivate products. Environmental issues, such as global warming, and the uncertainty about the quantity of the conventional fossil fuels are forcing suppliers to find new solutions for the near future. In this assignment, concentrated solar thermal technologies for electricity generation could play a relevant role in the near future. Sun is the largest source of power in this planet, and in fact, the only one coming from outer space. All sources of energy are ultimately derived from the sun1. It only seems logical to learn how profit from this vast income of power for sustainable human purposes, such as energy production. It is proven that concentrated solar power is feasible; however, it is hardly adjustable to the electricity demand when complete energy from sun is expected. Large storage tanks and backup systems are used to reach peak demand or in times of little or no sunlight. This thesis is based on a bibliographic study about the actual development of concentrated solar power. After the analysis, there is a proposal about a combined cycle powered for two different relevant solar technologies: central tower receiver and parabolic trough. The first is already being implemented and has proven its feasibility. However, the efficiencies reached are low compared with actual sources of power. On the other hand, recent developments in central tower receivers, ensures a high efficiency power conversion and the possibility of combination with actual gas-steam combined cycle. This thesis purposes and analyzes a new solar power plant configuration. A combination of the actual already tested parabolic trough collectors with a central receiver and its association to a gas-steam combined cycle.

Outgoing