SkyFuel Inc.

Project Facts:

When Enel Green Power integrated a SkyTrough solar thermal system to their existing power plant in Stillwater, Nevada, it became the very first triple hybrid powerplant in the world, combining geothermal, photovoltaic and solar thermal power generation. Forty-Four SkyTrough SCAs are arranged in 11 loops of 4 collectors each to supply 72 kg/s of demineralized water at 160 °C (320 °F) to a water/geothermal brine heat exchanger. The heated water acts as a temperature boost to increase the utilization of the existing power system. The plant entered full operation in 2015.

The detailed design of the solar field, as well as balance of field and construction, was provided by Power Engineers and TBC. Essential components for these collectors were manufactured by SkyFuel in Denver, Colorado, USA.

Project Facts:

Located outside of Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada is Canada’s very first integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) plant. SkyFuel’s SkyTrough was selected for this project to supply solar thermal energy to offset the natural gas needed to generate approximately 1 MW of electricity for the City of Medicine Hat’s existing combined cycle power plant. Eight SkyTrough SCAs, with a total aperture area of 5,248 m², arranged in 2 loops of 4 collectors, delivers 3.07 MW of thermal energy at design conditions (800 W/m²) to a solar steam generator.

The detailed design of the solar field, as well as balance of field and construction, was provided by WorleyParsons and Dynamic. Essential components for these collectors were manufactured by SkyFuel in Denver, Colorado, USA.

Project Facts:

As part of the Department of Energy‘s SunShot Initiative, SkyFuel installed a single prototype module of of SkyTroughDSP at the SkyFuel demo site in Denver, Colorado in 2013. The project was initiated to test the performance of SkyTroughDSP’s prototype parabolic trough collector, which features a 7.6 meter aperture. The system features direct molten salt operation and uses receivers from Schott Solar.

This test platform began operation at the end of 2013 and is still active with a host of research and development being conducted to develop and continuously improve our commercial-ready SkyTroughDSP. The focus of the R&D is to validate a variety of molten salt SCA components and system operational methodologies.

The detailed design of the system, as well as balance of field and construction was provided by SkyFuel. All components of this collector was manufactured by SkyFuel in Denver, Colorado, USA.

Project Facts:

A single thermal loop consisting of three SkyTrough SCAs providing approximately 1 MW_th at design conditions, was installed at Solar Electric Generating Station II (SEGS II) in Daggett, California. The system has been in continuous operation, providing heat to the existing SEGS II power block, since February, 2010.

The collector loop was assembled by an independent contractor under SkyFuel supervision to demonstrate the ease of installation and further refine installation processes and procedures. The solar field computer communicates with, and is under the control of the SEGS II system operator. Detailed performance data is collected automatically and provided to SkyFuel and the SEGS II operator.

Independent engineering firm Sargent & Lundy validated the performance of the collector loop and compared it to predicted performance model, taking into account the weather data collected in real time at the site. The performance model was based on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) measurements of the collector module’s optical efficiency and receiver heat loss.

Essential components for these collectors were manufactured by SkyFuel in Denver, Colorado, USA.