Germasolar power plant feeds grid at night, using molten salt

The sun don’t need to shine bright to power this one up! Nestled in Spain’s Andalucia province, the 19.9 MW Gemasolar concentrated solar power plant put up by Torresol Energy also plays home to two tanks of molten salt (MSES) that store heat energy generated throughout the day, enabling the plant to function well enough, even when the sun’s down, satisfying the thirsty summer grid. Expected to generate about 110,000 MWh of energy annually, the plant is capable of lighting up 25,000 homes.

One thing’s for sure. Sunsets sure as hell don’t hamper the working of this solar power plant. And yes, this could help bring about energy-efficient changes in future solar powered generators too.

[Inhabitat]