IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v13y2020i7p1816-d343631.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Low-Cost Solar Electricity Using Stationary Solar Fields; Technology Potential and Practical Implementation Challenges to Be Overcome. Outcomes from H2020 MOSAIC Project

Author

Listed:
  • Cristóbal Villasante

    (Fundacion Tekniker, Polo Tecnológico de Eibar, Calle Iñaki Goenaga 5, 20600 Gipuzkoa, Spain)

  • Saioa Herrero

    (Fundacion Tekniker, Polo Tecnológico de Eibar, Calle Iñaki Goenaga 5, 20600 Gipuzkoa, Spain)

  • Marcelino Sánchez

    (CENER (National Renewable Energy Centre of Spain), Ciudad de la Innovación 7, 31621 Navarra, Spain)

  • Iñigo Pagola

    (CENER (National Renewable Energy Centre of Spain), Ciudad de la Innovación 7, 31621 Navarra, Spain)

  • Adrian Peña

    (CENER (National Renewable Energy Centre of Spain), Ciudad de la Innovación 7, 31621 Navarra, Spain)

  • David Olasolo

    (Fundacion Tekniker, Polo Tecnológico de Eibar, Calle Iñaki Goenaga 5, 20600 Gipuzkoa, Spain)

  • Ana Bernardos

    (CENER (National Renewable Energy Centre of Spain), Ciudad de la Innovación 7, 31621 Navarra, Spain)

Abstract

At any time of the day, a spherical mirror reflects the rays coming from the sun along a line that points to the sun through the center of the sphere. This makes it possible to build concentrated solar power(CSP) plants with fixed solar fields and mobile receivers; that is, solar fields can be significantly cheaper and simpler, but challenging tracking systems for the mobile receiver need to be implemented. The cost-cutting possibilities for this technology have been under-researched. This article describes the MOSAIC concept, which aims to achieve low-cost solar energy by boosting the benefits of spherical reflectors while addressing their challenges. This new concept proposes to build large modular plants from semi-Fresnel solar bowls. One of these modules has been designed and is under construction in Spain. This article reports the main lessons learned during the design phase, describes the advantages and challenges of the concept, details the proposed routes to overcome them, and identifies the steps needed to develop a fully competitive industrial solution.

Suggested Citation

  • Cristóbal Villasante & Saioa Herrero & Marcelino Sánchez & Iñigo Pagola & Adrian Peña & David Olasolo & Ana Bernardos, 2020. "Low-Cost Solar Electricity Using Stationary Solar Fields; Technology Potential and Practical Implementation Challenges to Be Overcome. Outcomes from H2020 MOSAIC Project," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-14, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:7:p:1816-:d:343631
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/7/1816/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/7/1816/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rashid, Khalid & Safdarnejad, Seyed Mostafa & Ellingwood, Kevin & Powell, Kody M., 2019. "Techno-economic evaluation of different hybridization schemes for a solar thermal/gas power plant," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 91-106.
    2. McPherson, Madeleine & Mehos, Mark & Denholm, Paul, 2020. "Leveraging concentrating solar power plant dispatchability: A review of the impacts of global market structures and policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Avila-Marin, Antonio L. & Fernandez-Reche, Jesus & Carballo, Jose Antonio & Carra, Maria Elena & Gianella, Sandro & Ferrari, Luca & Sanchez-Señoran, Daniel, 2022. "CFD analysis of the performance impact of geometrical shape on volumetric absorbers in a standard cup," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P1), pages 256-272.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vasallo, Manuel Jesús & Cojocaru, Emilian Gelu & Gegúndez, Manuel Emilio & Marín, Diego, 2021. "Application of data-based solar field models to optimal generation scheduling in concentrating solar power plants," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 1130-1149.
    2. Fabio Maria Aprà & Sander Smit & Raymond Sterling & Tatiana Loureiro, 2021. "Overview of the Enablers and Barriers for a Wider Deployment of CSP Tower Technology in Europe," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 3(2), pages 1-18, April.
    3. Vinod Kumar & Liqiang Duan, 2021. "Off-Design Dynamic Performance Analysis of a Solar Aided Coal-Fired Power Plant," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-16, May.
    4. Weiguang Su & Yilin Li & Tongyu Zhou & Jo Darkwa & Georgios Kokogiannakis & Zhao Li, 2019. "Microencapsulation of Paraffin with Poly (Urea Methacrylate) Shell for Solar Water Heater," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-9, September.
    5. Wu, Chenyu & Gu, Wei & Yi, Zhongkai & Chen, Xi & Shi, Zhengkun & Luo, Enbo, 2023. "A multi-rate hybrid model for real-time iterative bidding coupled with power system dynamics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    6. Bame, Aaron T. & Furner, Joseph & Hoag, Ian & Mohammadi, Kasra & Powell, Kody & Iverson, Brian D., 2022. "Optimization of solar-coal hybridization for low solar augmentation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 319(C).
    7. Abdulrazzak Akroot & Mohamed Almaktar & Feras Alasali, 2024. "The Integration of Renewable Energy into a Fossil Fuel Power Generation System in Oil-Producing Countries: A Case Study of an Integrated Solar Combined Cycle at the Sarir Power Plant," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-29, June.
    8. Abiodun, Kehinde & Hood, Karoline & Cox, John L. & Newman, Alexandra M. & Zolan, Alex J., 2023. "The value of concentrating solar power in ancillary services markets," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    9. Qimei Chen & Yan Wang & Jianhan Zhang & Zhifeng Wang, 2020. "The Knowledge Mapping of Concentrating Solar Power Development Based on Literature Analysis Technology," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, April.
    10. Alfredo Nespoli & Andrea Matteri & Silvia Pretto & Luca De Ciechi & Emanuele Ogliari, 2021. "Battery Sizing for Different Loads and RES Production Scenarios through Unsupervised Clustering Methods," Forecasting, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-19, September.
    11. Iván Acosta-Pazmiño & Carlos Rivera-Solorio & Miguel Gijón-Rivera, 2020. "Energetic and Economic Analyses of an LCPV/T Solar Hybrid Plant for a Sports Center Building in Mexico," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, October.
    12. Emilia Koper & Andrzej Kochan, 2020. "Testing the Smooth Driving of a Train Using a Neural Network," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, June.
    13. Jawad Ahmad & Alessandro Ciocia & Stefania Fichera & Ali Faisal Murtaza & Filippo Spertino, 2019. "Detection of Typical Defects in Silicon Photovoltaic Modules and Application for Plants with Distributed MPPT Configuration," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-26, November.
    14. Ayman Temraz & Falah Alobaid & Jerome Link & Ahmed Elweteedy & Bernd Epple, 2021. "Development and Validation of a Dynamic Simulation Model for an Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Power Plant," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-23, June.
    15. Wei-Min Lin & Keh-Chin Chang & Kung-Ming Chung, 2019. "The Impact of Subsidy Programs for Solar Thermal Applications: A Case Study for a Remote Island," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-11, October.
    16. Braeuer, Fritz & Finck, Rafael & McKenna, Russell, 2020. "Comparing empirical and model-based approaches for calculating dynamic grid emission factors: An application to CO₂-minimizing storage dispatch in Germany," Working Paper Series in Production and Energy 44, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute for Industrial Production (IIP).
    17. Icaro Figueiredo Vilasboas & Victor Gabriel Sousa Fagundes dos Santos & Vinicius Oliveira Braz de Morais & Armando Sá Ribeiro & Julio Augusto Mendes da Silva, 2022. "AERES: Thermodynamic and Economic Optimization Software for Hybrid Solar–Waste Heat Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-14, June.
    18. Ellingwood, Kevin & Mohammadi, Kasra & Powell, Kody, 2020. "Dynamic optimization and economic evaluation of flexible heat integration in a hybrid concentrated solar power plant," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    19. Rana Pratap Singh & Hans Peter Nachtnebel & Nadejda Komendantova, 2020. "Deployment of Hydropower in Nepal: Multiple Stakeholders’ Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-17, August.
    20. Thomas Kemmler & Bernd Thomas, 2020. "Design of Heat-Pump Systems for Single- and Multi-Family Houses using a Heuristic Scheduling for the Optimization of PV Self-Consumption," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-18, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:7:p:1816-:d:343631. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.