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Solar power parks seen by Pléi...
Types of solar power parks seen by Pléiades Neo
Renewable, inexhaustible and without CO2 emissions once built, solar power plants contribute to carbon emission reduction strategies. Satellite imagery helps to monitor the bio-cycle of three types of solar parks: photovoltaic, thermodynamic and tower thermodynamic.
Satellite imagery intervenes in the 4 stages of the bio-cycle of a solar park
- Conception
- 3D model design
- Evaluation of exposure to sunshine and optimisation of park profitability
- Impact studies on landscapes, heritage and biodiversity - Installation
- Construction and site development - Exploitation
- Monitoring and maintenance - End of life
- Recycling
- Site restoration
Photovoltaic solar power plants
Photovoltaic solar power plants generate renewable electricity from solar radiation absorbed by panels connected to the electricity grid by inverters. In 2021, solar photovoltaics produced more than 3.7% of global electricity.
Bhadia solar Plant, India
Spanning over 56km² in Rajasthan’s Thar Desert, India, Bhadla became the world’s largest solar plant in 2023.
Work first begun in 2015 and the plant was developed in four stages. Today it has a capacity of production of 2.245 megawatts (MW), annually reducing CO2 emissions by about 4 million tons each year.
Cirata Solar Plant from Pléiades Neo - 06/03/2024
Cirata Floating Solar Plant, Indonesia
Inaugurated in November 2023, Cirata solar plant is the 3rd largest floating solar power plant in the world.
Floating on the Cirita Reservoir, an artificial lake of 200 hectares in the west of the island of Java, its 340,000 solar panels produce 145 megawatts of electricity. This production covers the needs of 50,000 homes, offsetting 214,000 tons of carbon dioxide.
Floating power plants ensure that land reserves are not affected and benefit from maximum sunlight.
Thermodynamic solar power plants
Thermodynamic solar power plants concentrate solar light using flat or curved collectors, directing it into horizontals pipes. These pipes are integrated into water circuits that drive turbines, generating electricity when activated.
Shams Solar Power Station Satellite image from Pléiades Neo - 04/06/2023
Shams Solar Power Station, EAU
As the largest Fresnel mirror solar power plant, the Dhirubhai Ambani solar park extends over 140 hectares in the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, producing 40 megawatts.
Fresnel solar power plants operate with flat mirrors. These are simple to manufacture and cheaper than parabolic.
The mirrors pivot to follow the path of the sun, permanently concentrating the solar rays towards a horizontal tube. As a result, the tube is heated up to 500 Celsius degrees. The steam that is produced activates a turbine which, in tern, produces electricity.
Dhirubhai Ambani Solar Park
The PS10 and PS20 tower solar thermal power plants are located 25km west of Seville, Spain.
SP 10 (on the right in the image) develops 11 megawatts of power thanks to 624 mobile mirrors with a surface area of 120m2 each. They direct the sun rays towards the top of a 115m high solar tower.
For SP20, 1,255 moving mirrors reflect light to the top of the 165m high solar tower. The concentrated radiation generates steam which is transformed into electricity by a turbine.
Thermodynamic tower solar power plants
Thermodynamic tower solar power plants use mirrors or heliostats positioned on the ground around a tower, which can reach heights of up to 200 meters. These mirrors track the sun's path and concentrate its rays onto the tower. The concentrated heat then transfers to a water circuit, generating steam that powers a turbine to produce electricity.
Planta Solar 10 and Plant Solar 20
The PS10 and PS20 tower solar thermal power plants are located 25km to the west of Seville, Spain.
SP 10 (right in the image) develops 11 megawatts of power thanks to 624 mobile mirrors with a surface area of 120m2 each. They direct the sun rays towards the top of a 115m high solar tower.
For SP20, 1,255 moving mirrors reflect light to the top of its 165m high solar tower. The concentrated radiation generates steam which is transformed into electricity by a turbine.
Ivanpah Solar Plants from Pléiades Neo - 06/10/2023
Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, USA
The power of the 3 thermodynamic solar towers plants in the Mojave Desert in California collectively generates 386 megawatts, which covers the annual consumption of 140,000 homes.
Spanning 14km², 173,500 heliostat mirrors focus solar energy on steam generators, located on 3 central solar towers reaching 140 meters high.
Thanks to its tall, centrally placed towers, the closed circuits of the water used in the thermodynamic cycle and the optimised design of its remotely controlled mirror fields, Ivanpah uses less surface area than other solar technologies.
