Abengoa Solar inaugurates second-generation solar tower

clipped from www.worldofrenewables.com Abengoa Solar’s first high-temperature power tower, Eureka, was unveiled today by Martín Soler Márquez, Director of Innovation, Science and Enterprise for the Andalusian Regional Governmen This power tower is intended to test, the only plant featuring these characteristics in operation in Andalusia and Europe, on an experimental basis, a new type of receiver that will achieve the higher temperatures needed for higher-efficiency thermodynamic power cycles. The aim of this new technology is to increase plant performance, thereby reducing both generating costs and the area of the solar field. This experimental plant occupies a 16,000-squarefoot portion of the Solúcar Platform and uses 35 heliostats and a 164-foot tower which houses the experimental superheating receiver. The power output capacity of the experimental plant is approximately 2MW. The plant includes a thermal energy storage system supplying power supply to the grid for short periods when there is no sunlight.