Europe's first commercial concentrating solar power plant was inaugurated today near the sunny southern Spanish city of Seville.
The 11 megawatt, MW, plant was inaugurated in the presence of the heads of the regional government of Andalusia and executives of the solar company Abengoa, whose parent company, Solucar, built the power plant.
The power plant in the municipality of Sanlucar la Mayor, 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Seville, took more than four years to build, from July 1, 2001 to December 31, 2005.
Known as PS10, the project produces electricity with 624 large movable mirrors called heliostats.
Each of the mirrors has a surface measuring 120 square meters (1,290 square feet) that concentrates the Sun's rays to the top of a 115 meter (377 foot) high tower where a solar receiver and a steam turbine are located. The turbine drives a generator, producing electricity.
Full article is here:
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2007/2007-03-30-02.asp
