Solar Tower ... ‘beam down’ facility.
Masdar launches solar research project
01 February 2010
A pioneering research project on concentrated solar power (CSP) has been launched at Masdar City in Abu Dhabi.
Undertaken by The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Japan’s Cosmo Oil Company and the Tokyo Institute of Technology, the CSP Central Tower project will test innovative ‘beam down’ technology, which has the potential to convert solar irradiation into electricity in a more efficient way than other technologies – producing a commercially viable process that would represent a significant breakthrough in CSP technology.
The ‘beam down’ process inverts conventional tower solar tower technologies, which uses mirrors (heliostats) to direct the sun’s rays onto a receiver at the top of a central tower to heat a heat-transfer fluid (molten salt, oil, or water) in order to generate steam, which is then used to drive a steam turbine. By placing the receiver at the base of the tower (ground level), the research team believes that they can reduce energy losses resulting from pumping the fluid to an elevated receiver, raising operational efficiency and lowering electricity generation costs.
The research is the most recent component of an ongoing effort by the UAE to position itself as a global leader in renewable energy technologies, which began with the establishment of the Masdar Initiative in 2006.
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