Introduction

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia have exacerbated the current energy shortage and promoted the sharp rise of international energy prices. From Europe, which relies heavily on Russian energy, to countries in Africa, the Middle East and other regions, people have felt the pain of rising oil and gas prices.

On April 2, thousands of people in London, Birmingham and other places held protests against the sharp rise in electricity and gas prices. Since April 1, the energy prices used by ordinary households in the UK have increased significantly. The annual upper limit of energy prices has increased by about 700 pounds (about 5846 yuan), an increase of 54%, which is even worse for low-income families who are already under inflationary pressure. According to a recent report by the financial times, in the United States, for every 300 kwh of electricity used by New York residents, the electricity bill rose by $40.85 (about 258 yuan), or as high as 50%.

In this situation, the demand for new energy continues to rise, and a multi energy complementary energy structure is becoming a consensus in the industry.On March 23-24, global energy leaders held the 2022 ministerial meeting of the International Energy Agency in Paris, which has sent a strong signal on the need to strengthen energy security, reduce market volatility and accelerate the transformation of global clean energy.

In the new energy industry, photothermal power generation is an industry with higher threshold than photovoltaic technology and less environmental pollution. Power generation is realized through the process of "light energy thermal energy mechanical energy electric energy", which makes up for the defects of instability and discontinuity of new energy such as wind power and photovoltaic power generation. It has the advantages of low cost, zero pollution, strong stability and continuity.

Background

     Luneng Haixi 50MW tower type solar thermal power generation project is located in Golmud City, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province, which is rich in solar energy resources. It is a key project of multi energy complementary integration and optimization demonstration project in Haixi Prefecture. The project covers an area of about 6400 Mu and adopts tower type molten salt solar thermal power generation technology, including a set of concentrating and heat collection system (composed of a 188 meter high heat absorption tower and 4400 heliostats), a set of heat storage and steam generation system 1 set of high temperature and high pressure reheat condensing steam turbine generator system and other auxiliary facilities, with a mirror field area of 610000㎡.

The basic form of tower solar thermal power generation system is to use the heliostat group that independently tracks the sun to gather the sunlight on the receiver fixed on the top of the tower, heat the heat transfer medium (Binary Molten Salt) in the heat absorber to 565 ℃ and store it in the high-temperature heat storage tank, then pump it into the steam generator to heat water to produce steam, and use the steam to drive the steam turbine unit for power generation, The heat transfer medium that releases heat in the steam generator returns to the low-temperature heat storage tank and then returns to the heat absorber for heating.

If the mirror in the heat collection system is fixed towards a certain direction in the sky and does not deviate with the movement of the sun, it will waste a lot of heat resources. Therefore, it is necessary to maximize the illumination per unit area of sunlight on the reflector.

Challenge

    A. High altitude, complex terrain and harsh natural environment;

    B. Typical plateau continental climate, with large changes in ambient temperature;

    C. The new energy industry chain has not been formed, and the supporting infrastructure, technical support and operation management are still imperfect.

Solution

    BWSENSING provides a sensing technology solution with high reliability, high security and high stability for the project. According to the special environment and temperature conditions such as high altitude and complex terrain where the project is located, the inclinometer BWM417H with small temperature drift, stable performance and strong resistance to external interference is selected as the "eye" of the photothermal power station, which is matched with the mechanical device to realize the automatic correction of the angle of the mirror and the accurate tracking of the sunlight, so as to minimize the waste of heat resources. In addition to tower type, it is also applicable to trough type, butterfly type, Fresnel and other heat collection projects. The installation mode and installation position will be different according to different types.

Project Outcome

A. The project has achieved 24-hour, all-weather and stable power supply, and can output 178 million kwh of stable power every year, meeting the basic domestic power demand of 100000 residents in one year, which has greatly improved the power consumption in Northwest China. On June 4, 2022, the solar thermal power station hit a new high of the same type of solar thermal power station in China, reaching 1096200 kwh;

B. Complementary and joint operation with photovoltaic and wind power systems solves the problem of energy storage, achieves the effect of "1 + 1 > 2", improves the dispatching flexibility of multi energy complementary system, and effectively reduces the peak shaving pressure of power grid;

C. It is helpful to promote the popularization and application of solar thermal power generation technology, and accumulate experience in engineering construction, operation and maintenance for the construction of high-capacity desert solar thermal power generation projects in the future;

D. It helps promote local clean and low-carbon energy and economic development, and help energy transformation.