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Preface
In the vast desert Gobi desert in the northwest of the mainland, there are tens of thousands of mirrors around the center of a tall tower standing in the wind and sand.
In fact, this special building is a molten salt tower solar thermal power station located in the Dunhuang area of the mainland, this eye-catching solar thermal power station can produce clean electricity 24 hours a day using only mirrors and salt, how does it do it?
What is so unusual about this power station that it can attract the attention of the world?
China's CSP has sprung up and led the world
In recent years, thanks to the unique natural conditions in the northwest region of the mainland and the strong support of the state in the new energy industry, China has made great progress in the field of solar thermal power generation, and has begun to lead the world.
The northwest region of the mainland has the world's most abundant solar energy resources, with long sunshine hours and large radiation, which is very suitable for the development of solar thermal power generation.
It is estimated that the western part of the mainland has 2,000 to 3,200 hours of sunshine per year, and the solar radiation is 5,000 to 6,000 megajoules per square meter, making it an ideal place for the development of solar thermal power generation.
After years of scientific and technological development and R&D research, Continental has also achieved independent and controllable core technologies in CSP, and has mastered a series of key technologies including heliostat design and manufacturing, heat absorption tower construction, molten salt heat storage, etc.
At the same time, the state has given dual policy and financial support to the CSP industry.
In 2016, the National Energy Administration issued the "13th Five-Year Plan for Solar Energy Development", which listed CSP as a key new energy industry to support, and in 2017, it introduced a special subsidy policy for CSP, which greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of enterprises to invest in construction.
In 2017 alone, the mainland's new installed capacity of CSP reached 100 megawatts, ranking first in the world, and by the end of 2018, this figure had doubled to 200 megawatts.
At the same time, the mainland has also made remarkable achievements in other clean energy fields, and its installed capacity in hydropower, wind power, and photovoltaic power generation has jumped to the first place in the world.
Information sources:
"The installed capacity of renewable energy in mainland China reaches 1.45 billion kilowatts, accounting for more than half of the country's total installed power generation capacity"2023-12-25
In 2023, the installed capacity of renewable energy in mainland China will reach 1.45 billion kilowatts, accounting for more than half of the total installed power generation capacity, which has historically exceeded the installed capacity of thermal power, accelerating the pace of green and low-carbon energy transformation.
These achievements indicate that the mainland has become a veritable new energy power, playing an increasingly important role in the global energy transition and climate change.
In the future, with technological progress and industrial upgrading, CSP is expected to become one of the most promising clean energy sources in the northwest of the mainland, making greater contributions to the optimization of the mainland's energy structure and the construction of ecological civilization.
"Super Mirror" in the Desert
On the vast Gobi Desert, a "super mirror" power station is particularly eye-catching, consisting of more than 12,000 heliostat mirrors with a total area of more than 1.4 million square meters, equivalent to the size of 200 standard football fields.
These mirrors are arranged in a circular array centered on a 260-meter-high heat-absorbing tower, and from a distance, they look like a "silver sunflower" blooming in the desert, which is the world-famous Dunhuang solar thermal power station.
Dunhuang CSP Power Station is the first large-scale commercial CSP power station independently designed and built in mainland China, which officially started construction in August 2016 and was connected to the grid in December 2018.
Information sources:
Xinhua News Agency, "Gansu: 100 MW molten salt tower solar thermal power station achieves full load power generation"2019-06-18
With a total investment of 3 billion yuan, the power station covers an area of 1,800 acres and has an installed capacity of 100 megawatts, making it the largest single CSP power station in Asia.
This power station adopts the international advanced tower molten salt technology route, integrating solar thermal power generation and molten salt energy storage, which can not only achieve efficient power generation, but also achieve long-term energy storage and regulation, and is a veritable "super mirror" power station.
Around the tower, more than 10,000 heliostat mirrors sparkle in the sun, and these mirrors are equipped with high-precision deceleration mechanisms for precise control of 0.6 milliradians.
As the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, they automatically adjust the angle to reflect the sunlight precisely onto the heat absorber at the top of the tower, with a focus accuracy of 0.03 to 0.05 degrees.
There are many "black technologies" behind the heliostat, each mirror is spliced by 35 small mirrors, and a special back plate design is used to effectively prevent the mirror from deforming and ensure the reflection efficiency.
The surface of the mirror is also covered with a nano-scale reflective film, with a reflectivity of more than 94%, in addition, the mirror has been specially treated, and has strong resistance to sand and dust and weathering, which can withstand the erosion of the wind on the Gobi Desert.
In addition to the "Super Mirror", the height of the heat absorption tower of 260 meters also set a record for the world, and with the diameter of the tower body of 24.6 meters, it constitutes the world's tallest and largest molten salt tower solar thermal power station.
At the top of the tower is a giant heat absorber with a modular design, which absorbs solar energy through flowing molten salt, with a maximum temperature of 565°C, and is coated with a high-temperature, high-absorption coating, so that the solar energy absorption efficiency reaches more than 96%.
With these advanced designs and cutting-edge technologies, the Dunhuang CSP Station has set many world records such as the largest installed capacity, the highest heat absorption tower, the widest mirror field area, and the largest molten salt reserves at the beginning of its construction.
Its successful operation indicates that the mainland has become one of the most advanced CSP technologies in the world.
Dunhuang CSP Power Station is not only a power station, but also a monument to show the strength of the mainland's new energy science and technology, it is like a mirror, reflecting the great progress and bright prospects of the mainland in the field of CSP.
Innovative technology for clean power generation
The key reason why Dunhuang CSP Station can achieve efficient and stable power generation is that it adopts the tower molten salt technology route.
Compared with the traditional trough CSP station, the tower system has the advantages of high CSP conversion efficiency, small footprint, and supporting heat storage system, which can be called a "revolutionary" technology in the field of CSP.
Dunhuang CSP station can be divided into three parts: light collection system, heat absorption system and power generation system.
The light collection system consists of tens of thousands of heliostat mirrors, which automatically track the trajectory of the sun under the precise control of the computer, focus the sunlight on the heat absorber at the top of the heat absorbing tower, and convert light energy into heat energy.
The heat sink is filled with molten salt, which can be heated by exchanging heat with the high-temperature flue gas, and the temperature can rise to more than 565°C, and these "energy-filled" molten salts will flow to the hot salt storage tank.
When the power grid needs electricity, the high-temperature molten salt will be pumped to the steam generator, where the water is heated to produce high-temperature and high-pressure steam, which drives the steam turbine generator set to generate electricity.
Information sources:
Guangming Network "Master Class Exploring the "Super Mirror" in the Gobi Desert" 2024-06-05
At the same time, the cooled molten salt flows back to the cold salt tank for storage, waiting for the next cycle, through the continuous circulation of molten salt, the power station can achieve 24-hour continuous power generation.
More importantly, molten salt can also play a role in energy storage, and the excess heat generated during the day can be stored in molten salt and then released at night to generate electricity, so as to achieve peak staggering regulation of electricity.
The heat storage performance of molten salt is very good, and the temperature of 565°C molten salt will only drop by about 10°C even if it is left for one day, which means that the power station can rely on the stored heat to maintain power generation for a long time even on cloudy days or nights.
It is estimated that the heat storage capacity of the two salt tanks is equivalent to the rated power generation of 30 hours, which can ensure the uninterrupted power supply of the power station.
Compared with the trough CSP station, the power generation efficiency of the tower power station is higher, and the power generation efficiency of the trough power station is usually less than 15% due to the low temperature of the heat transfer fluid and the difficulty of increasing the inlet temperature of the steam turbine.
Information sources:
Xinhuanet, 2021-02-25
The tower system using molten salt, because the molten salt temperature can be as high as 565 °C, the inlet temperature of the steam turbine can reach more than 540 °C, and the power generation efficiency can reach about 20%, which is close to the level of traditional thermal power units.
In addition, the floor area of the tower power station is also greatly reduced, because the tower system "concentrates" the solar energy on the heat absorbing tower, the light gathering multiple per unit area is more than 4 times that of the trough type, so the mirror field area can be greatly reduced, and the land area of the tower power station is only about 1/3 of the trough type based on the same installed capacity.
At present, Spain and the United States are the leading countries in CSP power generation outside of China, with about 2,300 MW of CSP capacity in Spain and 1,700 MW in the United States, but most of their power plants still use traditional trough systems.
In contrast, at the beginning of the design, China's Dunhuang CSP power station adopted the advanced tower molten salt technology route to achieve a technical "curve overtaking".
It is believed that in the near future, more tower CSP power stations will rise in the desert Gobi in the northwest of the mainland, becoming a new bright spot in the mainland's energy transition and green development.
The significance and prospect of Dunhuang CSP power station
The completion and operation of Dunhuang CSP power station has not only achieved a major breakthrough at the technical level, but also has had a far-reaching impact on the economy, society and ecology, and its significance has gone far beyond the scope of an ordinary power station.
The Dunhuang CSP Power Station is a successful attempt by the mainland to explore a new clean energy model in the western region, which is rich in sunshine resources but lacks conventional energy and has a fragile ecological environment.
The large-scale development of CSP can not only make full use of local solar energy resources, but also minimize the consumption of fossil energy, which is of great significance for improving the regional energy structure and promoting green and low-carbon development.
Information sources:
China Daily, "Dunhuang, Gansu: The Gobi Desert Continues to Export Green Energy"2024-02-27
The construction and operation of solar thermal power stations can also promote the development of local photovoltaic, new materials, equipment manufacturing and other related industries, and promote industrial upgrading and economic restructuring.
It is estimated that the first phase of the Dunhuang CSP power station alone can drive an investment of more than 3 billion yuan and create thousands of jobs.
In 2021, after the power station was put into operation, it produced 390 million kWh of clean electricity that year, which can not only meet the daily electricity needs of 200,000 households in Dunhuang, but also provide sufficient power guarantee for local tourism, agriculture and industrial development.
At the same time, the completion of the power station has also added a beautiful scenery to Dunhuang on the ancient Silk Road, and has become a new window to show the charm of "desert photovoltaic".
As a "zero-emission" power station, its clean power generation process produces almost no exhaust gas, waste water and waste residue, and has a minimal impact on the surrounding ecological environment.
Information sources:
People's Information: "Super Mirror Power Station" Generates 390 Million kWh of Power a Year"2021-10-13
Such a huge amount of clean electricity output also enables the power station to replace 120,000 tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 350,000 tons per year, which is equivalent to planting 10,000 acres of trees.
The completion of the Dunhuang CSP station indicates that the mainland has mastered the core technology of CSP and formed a complete industrial chain, which not only greatly enhances the mainland's energy independence guarantee ability, but also lays a solid foundation for the mainland to participate in global energy governance and lead the development of the international CSP industry.
Driven by the Belt and Road Initiative, China's CSP is expected to expand into a broader overseas market, allowing more countries and regions to share the fruits of green development.
Looking to the future, with the progress of technology and the reduction of costs, CSP will usher in a broader space for development.
Under the strategic layout of "West-to-East Power Transmission" in the mainland, the conditions for the large-scale development of CSP in Northwest China are becoming more and more mature, and with the advancement of the global energy transition and carbon neutrality goals, it will also bring new market opportunities for CSP.
epilogue
Dunhuang CSP Power Station, the "super mirror" standing in the depths of the desert, reflects not only the scorching sun, but also the dazzling light of China's new energy science and technology innovation.
Its completion marks that the mainland has become one of the world's most advanced in the field of solar thermal power generation, and provides a "Chinese solution" for the efficient development and utilization of global solar energy.
This "breathing" power station is using the magic of mirrors to gather light all the time, transforming the gift of the sun into a steady stream of clean electricity, lighting up thousands of lights, and protecting the blue sky and white clouds.
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