India's BHEL and Spain's Abengoa Join Forces for Place in the Sun

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Concentrated solar power (CSP) generation is moving into a high-growth phase. A study by Swiss bank Sarasin forecasts installed output of 32,000 megawatts (MW) globally by 2020. Other industry pundits say that this figure could be exceeded by a considerable margin. India alone is driving the Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission and is aiming for 20,000 MW of solar power projects installed by 2022, some of which will consist of small-scale photovoltaic (PV) units.

There is general agreement in the industry that the cost of generation through solar-thermal power plants will come down between 30% and 50% by 2020, which would bring the levelized costs of electricity to about $0.10 per kilowatt-hour.

Currently there is 679 MW of installed CSP capacity globally, with a further 2,000 MW under construction. The U.S. has 63% of the installed capacity, followed by Spain with 32%, according to CSP Today's Global CSP Industry Report. Spain has 89% of projects under construction, and the dominant technology is the parabolic trough system, which is used by 88% of operating plants and 97.5% of projects that are under construction.

The parabolic trough technology uses a long U-shaped trough on the ground, which concentrates the light reflected from the surface onto a hollow bar running down the center. The bar is filled with a fluid with substantial heat-conducting properties. Older oil-based models have been replaced with newer molten-salt models. The bar is heated to between 150 degrees Celsius and 350 degrees Celsius and the heat creates steam that powers the electricity generator. Troughs are positioned on a north-south axis that allows them to follow the course of the sun between rising and setting.

The fields of solar troughs can take up to 60% of the cost of a CSP installation, and it is in this area that design innovations in the future could reduce the cost of power by 15% to 28%.

In this growth market scenario Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BSE:500103) (BHEL) (New Delhi), India's major power machinery manufacturer, has signed an agreement with Spain's Abengoa (MCE:ABG) (Seville, Spain) to combine their capabilities to offer engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) solutions for CSP projects in India. The two companies will also look at cooperation in energy projects globally. Abengoa will bring expertise in the development, implementation and operation to the partnership. The company is active in the research and implementation of all types of solar power generation and innovation and has international experience in engineering and industrial construction. BHEL will bring knowledge of the energy market with a strong design and manufacturing base and a broad EPC capability in the energy sector.

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