Gemasolar: 19.9 Mega Watt 24/7 Solar Power Plant

Dec 20,2011

Spanning across an area of 1.85sq.km,more than 2600 mirrors reflect and concentrate the sun rays on to a massive receiver mounted at the center of the plant.

Gemasolar solar power plant,Spain

Gemasolar power plant located in Andalusia,Spain has a generating capacity of 19.9 Mega Watt.Sodium and potassium nitrate salts are heated to an apex temperature of 565° that consequently produces steam used to rotate the turbines.

The stored salts allow the plant to provide continuous supply of electricity to the grid for about 15 hours.This makes Gemasolar the only solar power plant in the world that can generate power even in the absence of sunlight e.g in cloudy weather or at night.

Gemasolar was developed by Terresol Energy-a joint venture between Senar ( Spanish engineering group) and Masdar ( Abu Dhabi government owned renewable development company).

European Investment Bank(EIB)supported this mile stone project with a €80 million loan.