The PS10 Solar Power Plant is the world's first commercial concentrating solar power tower operating near Seville, in Andalusia, Spain.
37°26′32″N 06°15′15″W
The 11 megawatt (MW) solar power tower produces electricity with 624 large movable mirrors called heliostats. It took four years to build and so far cost €35 million (US$46 million). PS10 produces about 23,400 megawatt-hours (MW·h) per year, for which it receives €271 (US$360) per MW·h under its power purchase agreement, equating to a revenue of €6.3 million per year
Each of the mirrors has a surface measuring 120 m² (1,292 square feet)
that concentrates the sun's rays to the top of a 115 meter (377 ft)
high, 40-story tower where a solar receiver and a steam turbine are
located. The turbine drives a generator, producing electricity
Three Solar Towers from left: PS20, Eureka, PS10
The PS10 solar power tower stores heat in tanks as superheated and pressurized water at 50 bar
and 285 °C. The water evaporates and flashes back to steam, releasing
energy and reducing the pressure. Storage is for one hour. It is
suggested that longer storage is possible, but that has not been proven
yet in an existing power plant. However, there are many considerations
for using molten salt
as an energy storage medium due to the great capability of storing
energy for long periods of time without substantial losses. Another
possibility is to use a phase-change material as thermal storage where latent heat is used to store energy
