This full scale project has been installed at Sandia National Laboratories’ National Solar Thermal Test facility located at Albuquerque in New Mexico, the US.
The energy storage system, which combines the molten salt test loop (MSTL) with AREVA’s CLFR applications, is said to be a better solution that captures energy night or day through the use of molten salt storage.
According to Areva, CLFR design uses an array of mirrors to concentrate the sun’s energy on an elevated evacuated tube receiver to heat a working fluid, in this case molten salt.
The system draws molten salt from a cold (290°C) tank, uses the heat from the mirrors to heat it to as high as 550°C, and passes that hot liquid to a separate tank for storage.
When needed, the high-temperature molten salt passes through a heat exchanger to produce steam for electricity generation.
The molten salt then returns to the cold tank and the process is repeated in a closed-loop system.
Areva said the use of molten salt as a working fluid allows high temperature operations, reduces the volume of salt needed for storage, and removes the need for two sets of heat-exchangers in the system.
These efficiencies are said to decrease the overall cost and complexity of the system.
As part of the project, the company will also study the optimization of operation and maintenance costs related to molten salt management in a real world environment.
Areva Solar CEO Sam Shakir said the energy storage solution combines the company’s CLFR technology with the demonstrated use of molten salt as a heat transfer and storage fluid.
"Together,these technologies provide a solution to capture the sun’s energy sun during the day and economically deliver renewable power to the grid at any time," Shakir added.
Image: Arewa’s molten salt energy storage demonstration plant in New Mexico, US. Photo: courtesy of Areva.
