General Electric (GE) the energy and technology giant is geared up to construct a gas-fuelled power station in Turkey, according to a press release. General Electric also has plans of harnessing the wind and solar energy in this project.
Using solar technology for gas-fired power stations is not a novel idea and has been in existence for some time. At present, there is such one such power station in Australia and two in North Africa. The solar energy collectors at these power stations collect heat and aid in saving fuel. The power stations in North Africa use parabolic trough collectors while the one in Australia uses Fresnel collectors to harness solar energy. However, for the power plant in Turkey, General Electric plans to use solar tower technology. It is the first time that it will be used in a power station.
The American solar company eSolar will supply the technology required for this power station. 12 towers with a receiver where sunlight is focused will be used. Additionally, 46MV units that comprise of a field of heliostats will also be provided. The President and CEO of Thermal Products, Paul Browning stated that thermal efficiency of over 61percent can be achieved by the power station ‘FlexEfficiency 50’. He also stated that the efficiency would be increased to over 70 % with the use of the solar towers supplied by eSolar.
General Electric had announced that it had become a minority shareholder in eSolar and acquired the license to use the solar tower technology from eSolar. The other innovation pertaining to wind turbines will also be used in the proposed power station. This is the first time that a power station can be defined as the Integrated Renewables Combined Cycle (IRCC) instead of just the Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC) power station.
Gas fuelled power stations are more reliable over coal-fuelled stations as gas can more readily adapt to the fluctuations in solar and wind energy.
