Energy: four solar concentration plants inaugurated in Italy and the Middle East
23/6/2016
Thanks to the International project STS-Med, in which ENEA participates, four small- sized solar concentrations plants have been set up in Italy, Egypt, Cyprus and Giordany.
Under the project STS-Med, involving 14 among institutions, local companies, universities and research bodies, including ENEA – four small-sized multi-source solar concentration plants have been inaugurated in Italy, Egypt, Cyprus and Giordany. Financed by the European programme for International Cooperation ENPI CBC MED, the main objective of STS-Med is spreading innovative technologies and increase awareness of local communities on the potential of solar concentration to meet energy demand.
Small-sized plants - and this is something entirely new since solar concentration systems are mainly large-sized (from a MW up) – are going to produce a total of 500 thermal Kw, providing electricity, hot water and conditioning to public buildings with 20thousand users in the Mediterranean area.
“This project offers new business opportunities to enterprises and contributes to the creation of local districts and production lines with qualified jobs- Alberto Giaconia, ENEA researcher, pointed out- Once fully functioning, the plants will be managed autonomously; we aim at training 1000 experts of the energy sector and bring 200 among operators and managers of public institutions to visit the plants, which will become actual training workshops”.
The plants- set up in schools or University Campuses- are equipped with an energy accumulation system ensuring functioning and electricity supply regardless of the actual solar radiation, also at night; in particular, ENEA has developed a new thermal accumulation system for small-sized solar concentration plants. The plants can be integrated with biomass and fossil energy sources (even if it’s only a possibility at the moment) to guarantee maximum flexibility of energy supply.
The characteristics of these prototypes offer new opportunities of sustainable development to many remote areas of the Planet, especially those in the so-called“sun-belt” (the strip of territory receiving a high amount of sunshine which includes North Africa and the Middle East), where solar energy harnessing will be the major source of energy supply. But that’s not all. In addition to the energy supply, the STS-Med technology will enable local communities to access drinking water thanks to desalination, a high energy-consuming process.
For more information please contact:
Alberto Giaconia, ENEA Casaccia Research Center, alberto.giaconia@enea.it