Behold the latest development to hit thermal power plants, the Solar Power Tower. Rather than the all to familiar arched mirrors converging natural sunlight on to a plethora of black tubing, the solar power tower system not only uses sun-tracking, Heliostat, mirrors to concentrate light on to a central tower, but new towers planned to be built by Solar Reserve will be using molten salt rather than water which heats up to power the turbine generating electricity. Genius!

Not only is there a great deal more heat capacity, but that extra heat can then be retained during the course of the night. This intelligent little tid-bit could renovate solar power in to an on-demand power source! Plans to build plants using this concept are already well under way with a 150- megawatt power tower deal with PG&E and a 100-megawatt plant in Nevada under a PPA (power purchase agreement).

Here comes the science..

The plant labeled the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project in Nevada will harbor at its core a concrete tower 538-foot in height holding at its apex a container bearing millions of gallons of liquefied sodium and potassium nitrate..How about we stick to “molten salt”? This salt is heated to over 1,000 degrees throughout the day which will give Crescent Dunes up to 12 hours of storage resulting in almost uninterrupted draw.

Its worth mentioning that the solar power towers are still at an early stage, even though a few have already been dotted around the globe, their maximum 20-MW capacity are no match for the colossal powers of the prospective power plants. To successfully reserve the electricity created by these power plants may well double the utility and value of solar thermal power, with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimating that electricity from such power towers could go for around 5.47 cents per KW-hour by 2020.

And the Tree’s, Bird’s and Bee’s?

Of course, one cannot afford to disregard the environmental concerns that surround power plants in the U.S deserts. Environmental detriment to habitat and landscape in comparison to the average current thermal power plant, the power tower claims a smaller footprint, requiring less space thanks to their ability to create and store more electricity. Though limited water supplies could be an issue, not all power towers are water cooled but instead air cooled with preserve invaluable resources. In terms of improvements, it’s an all-rounder!

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