The main project of the world's first "Two towers, one generator" photothermal energy storage power station has entered the commissioning phase, aiming to start power generation by the end of this year.
Located in Guazhou, Gansu, this photothermal energy storage power station features a design of two towers and two mirror fields, with two adjacent heat absorption towers sharing one steam turbine generator. Nearly 30,000 heliostats are installed beneath the towers, covering an area of 800,000 square meters. The power station uses these mirrors that track the sun's movement to focus sunlight onto the heat absorption towers, heating molten salt and thereby driving the steam turbine to generate electricity.
Each set of mirrors in the central area between the two mirror fields can rotate freely, as if sunflowers chasing the sun's daily trajectory. It can not only generate electricity normally when there is sunlight, but also store excess solar energy in molten salt, achieving a stable and uninterrupted power output for 24 hours. According to calculations, the "Two towers, one generator" design can increase the efficiency of the mirror field by about 24% under the same boundary conditions, thus converting more sunlight into green electricity.
After starting power generation, the photothermal energy storage power station will serve as a basic regulating power source, forming a multi-energy complementary clean energy base with surrounding photovoltaic and wind power, with a total installed capacity of 700,000 kilowatts. It will continuously export green electricity, with an annual power generation of 1.8 billion kWh, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 1.53 million tons.
Planner | Cao Si
Coordinator | Zhang Zhe, Liu Zikui, Li Hengdan
Cooperation Media | Gansu New Media Group
Text | Wang Dengke, Reporter from Gansu New Media Group
Poster Copywriter | Fu Qianying
Video | Zhang Ruiwei, Chen Mingji, Wingheng
Editor | Xie Miaofeng, Ou Xiaoming, Nina, Clarice, Huang Xi
