TITLE:
Demonstration of Pilot Scale Large Aperture Parabolic Trough Organic Rankine Cycle Solar Thermal Power Plant in Louisiana
AUTHORS:
Jonathan R. Raush, Terrence L. Chambers, Ben Russo, Kenneth A. Ritter III
KEYWORDS:
Concentrating Solar Power; Parabolic Trough; Solar Thermal; Organic Rankine Cycle; Power Plant
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Power and Energy Engineering,
Vol.1 No.7,
November
28,
2013
ABSTRACT: During
the calendar year of 2012 the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in
conjunction with CLECO Power LLC (CLECO) has constructed and commissioned a
pilot scale parabolic trough solar thermal power plant for the first time in
Louisiana. The large aperture trough (LAT) solar collectors were provided by
Gossamer Space Frames and are coupled with an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) power
block provided by ElectraTherm, Inc. for study of the feasibility of
cost-effective commercial scale solar thermal power production in Louisiana.
Supported by CLECO and providing power to the existing CLECO grid, the
implementation of state-of-the-industry collector frames, mirrors, trackers,
and ORC power block is studied under various local weather conditions which
present varied operating regimes from existing solar thermal installations. The
solar collectors provide a design output of 650 kWth and preliminary actual
performance data from the system level is presented. The optimal size,
configuration and location for such a plant in the given solar resource region
are being studied in conjunction with CLECO’s search for optimal renewable
energy solutions for the region. The pilot scale size of the facility and
implementation of the simpler ORC allow remote operation of the facility and
flexibility in operating parameters for optimization studies. The construction
of the facility was supported by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources,
the U.S. Department of Energy, and CLECO. The continued operation of the plant
is supported by CLECO Power LLC and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.