Cameo Power Plant to Combine Parabolic Solar Technology with Coal

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Xcel Energy (Minneapolis, Minnesota) and Abengoa Solar (Lakewood, Colorado) will integrate a 4-megawatt (MW) parabolic trough concentrated solar power demonstration project with an existing coal-fired power plant to improve the plant's efficiency, reduce coal consumption, and lower CO2 emissions. The project is estimated to cost $4.5 million.

The Cameo Power Station (Palisade, Colorado) owned by Xcel Energy has broken ground on the project, which is expected to last 10 weeks. This is the first time solar technology has been attached to a conventional, coal-fired electric power plant. If successful, the project could reduce the environmental impact that the power plant typically has without the technology. The project was awarded under an Innovative Clean Technology program approved by Xcel and the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.

The goal of the project is to prove that the heat produced by the solar parabolic technology can improve efficiency and reduce emissions and coal consumption.

Cameo Power Station was built in 1957 and has two generators capable of generating 44 MW and 22 MW, respectively.

A parabolic trough system uses an absorber tube as a heat collector. Solar radiation is reflected for the parabolic trough to the focal point of the parabola, which transfers the solar radiation energy to the working fluid (synthetic heat transfer oil) at 200 to 450 degrees Celsius. The energy is then used in this case to enhance the conventional power cycle. The steam that is generated from the working fluid through a heat exchanger is used to enhance the steam already generated from the boiler, lowering fuel costs and associated CO2 emissions. If successful, the technology will be adapted throughout the utility industry.

The project is expected to take 10 weeks to complete and will be tested for a year to collect data and determine the feasibility for implementation at other power plants.

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