This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Entrevista a José Jacinto Monge, profesor titular de Química Industrial y del máster en Tecnología Química, Energética y de Materiales de la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
"The future of the solar thermoelectric is very promising."
Interview with José Jacinto Monge, Professor of Industrial Chemistry, master's degree in chemical technology, energy and materials of the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Drafting Interempresas12/09/2011
September 12, 2011
Jacinto Monge has more than 30 years of experience in the industry of renewable energy sources, oil and chemical companies such as glassware Spanish (Saint-Gobain Group), Union explosives Rio Tinto, RepsolYPF, the European Association of the industries of the oil (EUROPIA) and Green Fuel Corporation. Currently, he is Professor of Industrial Chemistry at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos I and consultant on energy issues. In the past 15 years, has been expert for the European Commission for the development of technology policy and assessment of RTD projects.
Within the framework of Expoquimia, a day has been organized to discuss the solar thermoelectric, experiencing spectacular growth throughout the world. Why is the hall hosting a seminar on this topic it important?
Today, thermal use high temperature concentrated in so-called solar thermal power plants solar energy is registering a boom with a multitude of commercial projects in Spain and the USA. Spain undoubtedly plays a leadership role and the number of actors involved in its development has grown very quickly ranging from engineering to developers, suppliers of components, installers, etc. This promising stage is, however, clouded by the fact that the current generation of thermoelectric solar plant is still primarily based on schemes and technologically conservative devices. In a Hall as Expoquimia can address substantial improvements in material and important components, such as for example the use of thermal fluids to allow to work at higher temperatures; the use of thermochemical reactions for the storage of surplus energy or production of synthetic fuels.
Do we can explain this type of plants of the traditional thermal power stations or more extended photovoltaic plants are different?
Energy resource is the same in both technologies: solar energy. However, the procedure for conversion of irradiance into electrical energy is very different. However, rather than competitors, I would say they are technologies that complement very well. Photovoltaic solar energy applications are based on the use of the photovoltaic effect, which is the influence of solar radiation on a certain type of semiconductor materials. It is an elegant and direct conversion of solar radiation into electricity. In the case of the Central solar thermal power, however, used large surfaces of mirrors that reflect and concentrate solar radiation on a boiler or heat exchanger in which heat a thermal fluid up to high enough temperatures to generate superheated steam or to heat a gas which is subsequently expand in a turbine. The solar thermoelectric, handle large amounts of thermal fluids, allow accumulate heat energy for hours and electrical generation of solar origin fit demand curves.
The day will be the use of new materials and thermal fluid in the operation of this type of power plants. Why the use of new materials arise? What are the challenges that has to deal with this kind of central?
In Spain, we currently have 2,500 MW of solar thermal power plants in development, which will be fully operational by 2013. The anticipation of the new National Plan for renewable energies (PANER) is that this technology will reach the 5,000 MW installed by the year 2020. However, one of the risks at the present time is that the first 2,500 MW use 94% very conservative technologies with expensive reflective materials, which can represent up to 40% of the total cost of the investment and operate with thermal fluids at relatively modest temperatures (below 400 ° C). The most immediate consequence of these conservative designs is the use of systems with efficiencies less than 20%, the limitation to integrate energy storage systems and to achieve the necessary temperatures for synthetic fuel production processes. The present day of diffusion technique presents some innovative contributions in the field of the reflectors and absorbers plots and the thermal fluid for the cooling circuit of the solar field and the system of energy storage, two of the components with the highest incidence in the cost and efficiency of solar thermal and systems where chemistry and materials science play an essential role.
Taking into account the characteristics of our country, do you think that this type of plants will be that we will provide mainly of energy in the coming years?
What is undeniable is that all scenarios published by experts, the International Energy Agency or environmental associations, have the big three for mass penetration of renewable energy: wind, photovoltaic and solar thermal. The new commitments made by Member States in the European Union to achieve 20% penetration of renewable energy in the year 2020 and very high values in the case of electricity production - Spain plans to achieve this year 40% of participation in the whole of domestic generation renewable electricity, - make unavoidable promotion of thermal solar energy in countries sunny southern Europe, and must do so complementing to photovoltaics, given that the latter does not have storage capacity and adapt to the demand. In a study for Greenpeace by the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas (Madrid) in 2005, it was estimated that thermoelectric solar energy might technically cover 35 times total Spain electricity demand in 2050. For now, we know the objective by the year 2020 in Spain is estimated at 5,000 MW and in the U.S. exceeds 10,000 MW. Other countries are joining to this development, as India which has recently presented the program called Solar Mission, covering a total of 20 GW of solar electricity photovoltaic and solar thermal. Other countries that are pushing solar thermal projects are Algeria, Australia, South Africa and, more recently, Chile.
What can you tell us the environmental impact that cause this kind of power? It is a type of sustainable energy?
The main impacts associated with this type of power plants are the intensive use of land and water consumption. A typical 50 MW plant may take more than 1 kilometer square of land, so it is necessary that its implementation prioritise in marginal areas where the environmental impact will be minimal. With regard to water consumption, it is associated fundamentally to cooling in the steam circuit, as in all conventional thermal plants with cooling tower open to the atmosphere. The short-term trend is forcing projects to integrate systems of dry cooling with cooling circuit closed thereby reducing water consumption by 90%. This is logically a surcharge and penalizes by 3-5% performance, so it probably will have to enter it as an obligation.
In this connection, compliance with the Kyoto Protocol as regards emissions of C02, does a disadvantage or a new challenge for the development of these power stations?
It is without a doubt, one of the mobilisers elements of this technology, coupled with the creation of employment and security of energy supply. Good example of the importance that are becoming renewable energy in the international energy context is that the own international the Energy Agency (IEA) in his analysis of technological Outlook published in 2010 (ETP2010-Energy Technology Perspectives) recognizes that a significant penetration of renewable technology is needed to comply with the emission reduction targets by the year 2050,that they would mean up to 17% in the contribution of reducing emissions of CO2 in the world. Until recently, such ambitious objectives of penetration were only referred to by the panels of climate change and environmental institutions. These emission reduction targets are met the stage posed the IEA is that they should be mounted between 10,000 and 20,000 MW of new plants solar thermal in the next 40 years. Each plant MW solar thermal comes to avoid some 1,000 tons of emissions of CO2 per year.
What is the future that promised you to the thermoelectric solar?
In the next five years will live an exciting situation, with a very dynamic market and the emergence of new countries concerned. The emergence of countries such as India and China will be crucial to know if the cost reduction curve stagnates or if costs can soon be reduced 60%, which is what predicts the sector. This reduction in costs, together with the development of cheaper energy storage systems, should help to generation costs lower 0.12 EUR/kWh. They must be central, however, that they learn to complement photovoltaic power stations. More modular designs that enable the implementation in all territories should also be. The future of the solar thermoelectric is very promising in the countries of the solar belt with good direct solar radiation.
Thermoelectric solar can accumulate heat energy for hours.
At the moment, seems that the solution is to alternative energy sources. What is your opinion on this? And chemistry, what role does it play in the development of these energy sources?
The anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants can be reduced significantly by replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. In addition, renewable sources are indigenous to allow help to diversify the national energy balance and helps improve the security of energy supply. A bet for renewable energy sources would, by the year 2020, there more than 250,000 jobs linked to these energies, figure that incidentally has reached Germany. There are good reasons to account for renewable energies in the priorities of this decade. On the role of chemistry, I believe that it is essential in some of the elements that are analyzed in the day, as for example in a system as essential as energy storage. Without a good accumulator system, these power stations lose a large part of its appeal, and the accumulation has to be done well by thermal fluids or with reversible chemical reactions. Medium-term research has concentrated on the production of solar fuels. Short term chemistry comes cheaper materials reflecting, for example using polymers, or the introduction of composite materials for large structures of hubs.
And finally, is celebrated the international year of chemistry in 2011, do you think that, finally, society understood the benefits of this activity such as electric power generation?
Without a doubt, the society understand benefits posed by the chemical industry to the economic and social development of all citizens. More than 150 years, chemical products have been manufactured on an industrial scale, assuming an important contribution in providing food (fertilizers, plant protection), hygiene (detergents, cosmetics), health (drugs, vitamins) and, in general, the prosperity and the level/quality of life around the world. At present, the chemical industry plays a vital role in European society and world. The chemical industry is 2.4 per cent of the gross national product (GNP) in the European Union and almost 2% of GNP in the United States of America. It is a purely export industry. It employs millions of people and produces more than 70,000 different products. It is an industry with a high technological component and large investments in research and development (r & d). Much more important, the chemical industry is a "key", facilitating industry of other industries and sectors that many of their products depend on chemicals. For example, a car contains around 2,000 euros in chemicals. From the polyurethane used for the seats and the neoprene used in pipes and sleeves until the nylon, used in safety belts. The rubber for tires, polypropylene for bumpers or glycols used in antifreeze, brake fluids, and a long etcetera.
With regard to the importance of chemistry in the generation of electrical energy, we have already mentioned in any of the previous questions the fundamental impact on the generation of photovoltaics and solar thermal. In addition, in conventional electricity generation, chemistry plays a key role in the processes of capture and storage of CO2, which will allow the use of fossil fuels while avoiding emissions of CO2. Also in the process of storage of electricity in batteries with Red-Ox chemical reactions.
