AORA to Turn on Hybrid Solarized Gas Turbine Power
AORA, a developer of applied ultra-high temperature concentrating solar power (CSP) technology, announced on June 1 that it will launch on June 24 the world's first gas turbine solar thermal power station at Kibbutz Samar in southern Israel.
AORA's Samar power station consists of a field of 30 tracking mirrors (heliostats) situated on half an acre of land. The power module is expected to supply 100 kW of power to the national grid, enough to sustain approximately 70 households.
"The launch of our solar power system ushers in a new and exciting generation of solar technology," said Haim Fried, AORA's chief executive officer. "Not only can our modular systems be scaled and customized for a variety of environments and individual needs, but the fact that we are using a hybrid system means that our customers can produce clean energy and heat 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
The company's hybrid approach allows the system to run on solar radiation input, as well as almost any alternative fuel, including biogas, biodiesel, and natural gas.
Each of the Samar station's 30 heliostats track the sun and reflect its rays toward the top of a 30 meter-high tower housing a special solar receiver along with a 100kw gas turbine. The patented receiver uses the sun's energy to heat air to a temperature of 1,000 degrees Celsius and directs this energy into the turbine. The turbine in turn converts the thermal energy into electric power that will be fed directly into the national grid.