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ePaper created 2014-04-30, 16:22:09 | version 1.30.01
discovered 02 .13 FOCUS WWW.Hzdr.DE Day in and day out, the sun is shining in the sky. Its rays transmit light and heat to Earth and the total of this energy surpasses global energy consumption many times over. That explains why much research has gone into figuring out just how this incredible gift may be exploited. Photovoltaics and solar thermal energy conversion can be used to harvest sunlight and generate electricity and heat in an environmentally-friendly and emission-free manner. One option is given by solar thermal power plants which today are found in many of Earth’s sunnier regions. These plants include parabolic trough facilities that capture sunlight by means of curved mirrors and concentrate it onto a centrally positioned, fluid-containing pipe. The fluid heats up and powers turbines that are coupled to a generator. The World’s largest facility was opened in Abu Dhabi in March 2013. Covering an area the size of 350 soccer fields combined, the facility consists of a quarter of a million mirrors and supplies electricity to some 20,000 Emirate households. Yet another option is the solar tower facility, where a plethora of planar and repositionable mirrors focus sunlight onto a tall tower containing a heat transfer medium, which then takes up and transmits this energy. The truth though is that we've not even begun to tap the inherent potential of these types of facilities. In order to increase efficiency, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf scientists are working with their colleagues from the Spanish company Abengoa, a true pioneer in energy research. "We’re looking for new, highly efficient materials capable of harvesting even greater quantities of sunlight," says Gintautas Abrasonis from HZDR. The goal is to use these materials as thin coatings on the central absorber unit to capture all of the visible light and convert it to heat that won't get reemitted. Therefore, the Dresden researchers are _TEXT . Uta Bilow HARVESTING SUNLIGHT // Materials scientists at the HZDR and at Spanish global leader Abengoa are investigating how solar facility efficiency may be optimized. REALIZING POTENTIAL: Together with their colleagues at Abengoa Solar, the company which operates this parabolic trough facility near Seville, Spain, HZDR materials scientists are working on increasing solar thermal power plant efficiency. Photo: Abengoa Solar, S.A.