Pumps for renewable power generation
6 Sep 2012
Sponsored article:
Worldwide, countries have made commitments to significantly increasing their share of electricity generated from renewable sources by 2020.
Sulzer Pumps supports fulfilling these targets with tailor-made pumping solutions and services for concentrated solar power generation, geothermal power generation, as well as novel concepts for the storage of electrical energy produced from renewable sources.
Several renewable sources will contribute to meeting the expected demand for clean power.
Most scenarios predict notable growth of electricity produced from wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal. Of these, solar power has the highest theoretical potential, as the sun provides the earth with as much energy every hour as human civilization uses every year.
Converting solar energy into electricity requires a high level of technological expertise. Photovoltaic cells and concentrated solar power (CSP) systems are the most common technologies commercially used for solar-based electricity generation.
Photovoltaic panels directly transform sunlight into electricity, whereas CSP systems concentrate sunlight to heat up a working fluid, which is used to operate a steam turbine to produce electricity.
This fast-growing type of solar technology requires strong, direct solar radiation and is mostly used in large, centralized installations by utilities.
In CSP plants, pumps are needed to circulate and store the working fluid on the solar island. On the power island, they are used for condensate extraction, feed water, and cooling water circulation.
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