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Solar parabolic troughs to generate
power in Rajasthan
India's total installation of power
capacity is a little over 124,000 MW
and out of that 60% is coal based, with
hydro at 25%, and the rest are coming
from gas and nuclear energy. Power shortfall
has been estimated at 11% of the total
energy, and 15% of the peak capacity
requirements. These are likely to increase.
It has been recently announced that
the country would be facing a sudden
power shortage of 70,000 MW, and several
measures are being taken by the Indian
Government to avert the shortfall. However,
the power sector planning estimates,
that another 10,000 MW of capacity will
be required by the country in the in
the near future, with the requirement
of a further 10,000 MW in the next 10
years. There are environmental concerns
about coal-base power plants, related
to its emissions of particulate matters,
sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide, carbon
dioxide, methane and other gases. As
regards the other alternative, Hydro-power
plants can lead to degradation of soil,
erosion, destruction of forest, wildlife
displacement, and most important of
all displacement of human habitats.
The Indian Government has put the use
of renewable energy in its top priority
list to encounter the shortfalls envisaged.
Being a tropical and sub-tropical region,
most parts of India experience a clear
sunny weather for over 250 to 300 days
a year. This is comparable to the annual
global radiation, which varies from
1600 to 2200 kWh/sq.m, which provides
an equivalent energy potential of about
6,000 million GWh per year. According
to the report maintained by the India
Meteorological Department, the state
of Rajasthan and Gujarat receives the
highest annual global radiation, and
with a large part of the land in the
state of Rajasthan being barren and
scarcely populated, it has become a
suitable site for large central power
stations based on solar energy.
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In the sunny state of Rajasthan, the Indian
Government is about to complete a huge new power
station using hybrid systems. This fossil fuel/solar
hybrid power plant is poised to generate a huge
140 megawatts of electric power, out of which
40 megawatt will be produced from a large array
of solar parabolic troughs. The technology uses
large parabolic mirrors to focus the sunlight
to heat a thermal media, like, gas or steam,
which in turn drives a turbine generator. The
project cost runs to about $1 million per megawatt
and is still considered to be cheaper than the
others.
Source:Ezine Articles |
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