SENERtrough technology

The SENERtrough technolgy is being proved in the Andasol 1 solar plant, in Granada (Spain). The plant will count on 50 MW and, based in the innovative molten salt thermal storage system, will be able to produce energy with an annual capacity factor above 40%, far beyond any existing solar plant.

The patented SENERtrough concept has shown much better mechanical characteristics than other existing designs. The main technological contributions to the trough system are:

• An improved design for the trough, with substantially lower steel weight and assembly time than other similar collectors. This is an important fact since a typical 50 MW plant incorporates 90,000 m of parabolic troughs with about 15,000 tons of steel.
• The introduction of a molten salt heat storage system that allows to continue the power generation for more than 7 hours in low radiation conditions.
• An optimized thermal cycle that improves the energy efficiency.

In brief, innovations which increase the economic competitiveness of the plant.