The Copiapó Solar Project is a 390

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units, International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), ...

(MW) net

solar thermal power Concentrated solar power (CSP, also known as concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal) systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight into a receiver. Electricity is generated when ...

project to be located near

Copiapó Copiapó () is a city and commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal town of Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capital of Copiapó Province and Atacama Region. Copiapó lies about 800 km north ...

, about 65 kilometers east of the coastal

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

. The project is being developed by

SolarReserve SolarReserve was a developer of utility-scale solar power projects which include Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Photovoltaic (PV) technology. The company has commercialized solar thermal energy storage technology that enables solar power tow ...

, and is scheduled to reach commercial operation in 2019. The Copiapó project will comprise two 120 megawatt (MW), 130 MW gross) solar thermal towers with up to 14 hours thermal storage, combined with 150 MW of PV. The hybrid project will deliver over 1,700 gigawatt-hours (

GW·h A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...

) annually, as non-intermittent baseload power, 24 hours a day. The project uses

heliostat A heliostat (from ''helios'', the Greek word for ''sun'', and ''stat'', as in stationary) is a device that includes a mirror, usually a plane mirror, which turns so as to keep reflecting sunlight toward a predetermined target, compensating ...

mirrors that collect and focus the sun's thermal energy to heat

molten salt Molten salt is salt which is solid at standard temperature and pressure but enters the liquid phase due to elevated temperature. Regular table salt has a melting point of 801 °C (1474°F) and a heat of fusion of 520 J/g.< ...

flowing through a

solar power tower A solar power tower, also known as 'central tower' power plant or 'heliostat' power plant, is a type of solar furnace using a tower to receive focused sunlight. It uses an array of flat, movable mirrors (called heliostats) to focus the sun's ra ...

. The molten salt circulates from the tower to a storage tank, where it is then used to produce steam and generate electricity. Excess thermal energy is stored in the molten salt and can be used to generate power for up to fourteen hours, including during the evening hours and when direct sunlight is not available. The project's solar tower component technology is based on the SolarReserve

Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project is a solar thermal power project with an installed capacity of 110 megawatt (MW) and 1.1 gigawatt-hours of energy storage located near Tonopah, about northwest of Las Vegas. Crescent Dunes is the fir ...

in the US. The project is expected to cost $2 billion. The Copiapó Solar project was submitted to a full environmental assessment under the Chilean system of Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) administered by the Department of Environmental Assessment (SEA), and received an Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA), as it is called the Chilean environmental permit, on August 19, 2015. The hybrid concept combines two or more energy conversion mechanisms, that when integrated, overcome limitations inherent in either. The purpose is to provide a high level of energy security and reliability through the integrated mix of complementary generation methods. Specifically, photovoltaics, to date, has a lower cost if one ignores the dispatchability question, that instead is solved by the solar thermal component. At the 2017-01 auction, SolarReserve bid $63/MWh for 24-hour CSP power with no subsidies, competing with other types such as LNG gas turbines. And in the following auction they bid less than 5 ¢/kWh.SolarReserve Bids CSP Under 5 Cents in Chilean Auction
Soalr Paces October 29, 2017 "SolarReserve Bids CSP Under 5 Cents in Chilean Auction".

References

External links

*
Municipality of Copiapó
*
Chile Environmental Authority
{{DEFAULTSORT:Copiapo Solar Project Solar power stations in Chile Solar thermal energy Proposed solar power stations Proposed renewable energy power stations in Chile

See also

References

External links