DGAP-News: Successful start in Egypt: Solar field of the hybrid power plant in Kuraymat exceeds expectations
(firmenpresse) - DGAP-News: Solar Millennium AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous
Successful start in Egypt: Solar field of the hybrid power plant in
Kuraymat exceeds expectations
22.09.2011 / 09:38
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Successful start in Egypt: Solar field of the hybrid power plant in
Kuraymat exceeds expectations
- Hybrid power plant with a capacity of 150 megawatts uses solar energy
as well as natural gas and can be operated around the clock
- Successfully in operation since June 2011, solar field performance
nearly 8% above target
- Solar Millennium Group responsible for solar field technology
Erlangen/Kuraymat, September 22, 2011 Three months after commencing
operation, the production at Egypt's first major solar-thermal power plant
exceeds expectations considerably. The solar field, based on parabolic
trough technology developed by the Solar Millennium Group, generates nearly
eight percent more energy on average than estimated. Kuraymat, situated
some 100 kilometers south of Cairo, which went into commercial operation in
June 2011, is a hybrid power plant with overall electric capacity of 150
megawatts (MW). In addition to solar energy, the plant also uses natural
gas. This combination allows for 24-hour operation, saves natural gas
resources and supplies nearly two million people with energy.
The solar technology for this reference project was delivered by Flagsol
GmbH, a subsidiary of Solar Millennium AG (ISIN DE0007218406). Flagsol
designed the solar field and the heat transfer fluid (HTF) system in the
absorber pipes, delivered the control unit for the solar field and other
key components. The solar field was installed and commissioned in
cooperation with Egyptian general contractor, Orascom Construction
Industries. Since receiving the operational acceptance certificate on June
1, 2011, Flagsol GmbH advises Orascom on operation and maintenance (O&M) of
the solar field. Flagsol has six O&M experts on site to work on further
improving the thermal performance of the solar field together with Orascom.
In Erlangen, Dr. Christoph Wolff, the CEO of Solar Millennium AG,
explained, 'Kuraymat is proof that our solar-thermal technology is
efficient. In addition, the power plant impressively shows that the
Desertec vision can be realized and creates local jobs in clean energy
generation'.
In an assembly hall that was built especially for this purpose, more than
100 Egyptian technicians constructed around 2,000 collector units. The
finished Skal-ET collectors measuring approx. six meters in height were
then installed in the solar field in several hundred meter long rows of
parabolic troughs. All the collectors in the solar field automatically and
permanently track the sun. The Kuraymat location features average solar
irradiation of more than 2,400 kilowatt hours per square meter and year.
The solar field collects this solar energy by means of more than 53,000
parabolic mirrors with an overall surface of more than 130,000 square
meters.
'Cooperation with our Egyptian partner, Orascom, works so well that we
have, thus, established a basis for further cooperation in the region.
Currently, we and Orascom participate together in the tender process for
Morocco's first solar-thermal power plant', Klaas Rühmann, the Kuraymat
project manager in charge at Flagsol, explains.
The international call for tenders and contract for the hybrid power plant
in Kuraymat were issued by the Egyptian Energy Authority, NREA. Total costs
amount to more than EUR 250 million, some 30 percent of which are
attributable to the realization of the solar field. Thanks to the example
set by the project, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) subsidized the
solar field with about USD 50 million. Together, Flagsol and Orascom
Construction Industries will operate the solar section of the power plant
for a period of two years before it is handed over to the owner. The
experience gained and empirical data, thus, collected are to be considered
and used in future power plant projects.
About Solar Millennium AG:
Solar Millennium AG (ISIN DE0007218406), Erlangen, is a company that
operates globally in the renewable energy sector, with its main focus on
solar power plants. Together with its subsidiaries and associates, the
Company specializes in solar-thermal power plants, particularly parabolic
trough plants, and has taken a global leadership position in this field.
Solar Millennium is striving to further extend its expertise in this area
with the aim of achieving and securing sustainable technology leadership.
The Company covers all important business sectors along the value chain for
solar power plants: from project development and financing to technology
and the turnkey construction and operation of power plants. Solar
Millennium realized Europe's first parabolic trough power plants in Spain
as well as the first modern parabolic trough solar field in Egypt. In
Blythe (California), Solar Millennium is presently developing the largest
solar power plant in the world. Additional projects are planned around the
world with a total capacity of several thousand megawatts. The current
regional focus is on Spain, the U.S., the Middle East and North Africa.
About solar-thermal power plant technology:
Solar-thermal power plants generate electricity by converting solar
radiation into heat energy. In a parabolic trough power plant,
trough-shaped mirrors concentrate the incidental radiation onto a pipe in
the focal line of the collector. Its absorption heats a fluid heat medium
in the pipe, generating steam in the power block through a heat exchanger.
As in conventional power plants, the steam powers a turbine to generate
electricity. By integrating thermal storage, electricity can be supplied on
demand, even after sunset.
For further Information:
Solar Millennium AG
Corporate Communications presse(at)solarmillennium.de
Investor Relations investor(at)solarmillennium.de
Tel.: +49 (0)9131 9409-0
Web: www.solarmillennium.com
End of Corporate News
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