A review of Andasol 3 and perspective for parabolic trough CSP plants in South Africa

Andasol 3 is a 50 MW parabolic trough concentrating solar power plant with thermal energy storage in Andalusia, southern Spain. Having started operating in 2011 as one of the first plants of its kind in Spain it has been followed by more than 50 in the country since.For the reason that CSP plants with storage have the potential to compete against fossil fuel fired plants much better than any other renewable energy source a long-term review of such a plant operating on a commercial scale is needed. With data at hand documenting Andasol 3’s operation over the course of one year between July 2013 and June 2014 we intend to provide such a review.We calculated the plants overall efficiency, its capacity factor, the gross energy generation as well as auxiliary powers on a monthly basis to reflect upon its overall performance. It was also looked at the benefits caused by the thermal energy storage and especially how steadily and reliably the plant was able to operate.With basic background information about physi...