247Solar and global mining industry advisors Whittle Consulting say they have agreed to a long-term collaboration to integrate 247Solar’s round-the-clock clean power technology into Whittle’s Strategic Optimisation models for mining. Whittle Consulting offers Integrated Strategic Planning services to the mining industry through a team of highly experienced industry specialists.
With technical expertise in a range of disciplines including geology, mining engineering, metallurgy, research, mathematics, computing, finance, operational/financial modelling and analysis, Whittle Consulting provides a fully integrated approach to planning and optimising mining enterprises across all parts of the value chain. Whittle Consulting CEO Gerald Whittle says: “The mining industry is committed to going carbon neutral, and switching to renewable energy will be a major component of that. Most mines run 24/7 so storage of renewable energy is key. We see great potential for 247Solar to be part of that future, particularly in remote off-grid locations.” Whittle Consulting is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with offices in the UK, US, Canada, South Africa, Chile, Peru, and Indonesia.
247Solar said in March 2020 that progress continues on its first operational pilot plant, its Commercial Demonstrator, under construction in Ouarzazate, Morocco. The plant is being deployed in collaboration with Masen, the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy, at Masen’s Noor-Ouarzazate Complex.
Major engineering milestones have been completed on all core components, with manufacturing and fabrication well underway. The 247Solar Combustor™, which allows the system’s turbines to burn a range of fuels as backup, is being tested. The first 247Solar Power Block™, a modified Capstone turbine shipped operation-ready with generator and power electronics, is nearing completion. Testing was slated for late March or early April, prior to delivery. All core specialty sub-components of the 247Solar Receiver™ were tested and ready for shipment. Fabrication was underway on the innovative heliostats. Final engineering on the tower was underway prior to groundbreaking and laying the foundation.
247Solar Plants are a turnkey solution for producing baseload, clean electricity around the clock “at costs competitive with PV today and with coal tomorrow at scale. They eliminate most disadvantages of conventional CSP, PV, wind, and traditional power technologies with a hot-air-driven Brayton Cycle system that operates at atmospheric pressure and requires no steam, molten salts, or heat transfer oils.”
Unlike large, custom-engineered, first-generation CSP projects, 247Solar Plants are standardised modules of 400 kW capacity, scalable from a single plant off-grid to utility-scale farms of virtually unlimited capacity. 247Solar Plants use factory-made components, most of which can be manufactured locally, with few moving parts, for low maintenance and rapid, low-cost deployment.
“The 247Solar Thermal Storage System™ stores up to 15 hours of the sun’s energy as heat instead of electricity, using simple firebrick or ceramic pellets instead of molten salts for reduced cost and complexity. To guarantee electricity on demand, the Plant’s turbines can also burn a variety of fuels. 247Solar Plants offer outstanding grid reliability and resilience with no requirement for emergency backup. They provide battery-like response to grid voltage and demand fluctuations, mitigating intermittency from other renewables.”
Chinese engineering and manufacturing firm CASEN Investment Co. (formerly DK Solar) is providing the heliostats (solar mirrors) and associated control systems for the demo plant. CASEN’s innovative mirrors include several unique design features. Most heliostats are stowed at night with their mirrors facing the sky. This can cause the mirrors to be soiled by a sticky mix of moisture (dew), dust, and air pollution. They also are subject to adverse weather, including sandstorms and hail. In much of the Middle East, for example, great expense usually is required to clean the hard-to-remove dirt from the mirrors that’s been deposited at night. In contrast, CASEN’s heliostats are stowed at night with their mirrors facing down, avoiding these serious and expensive problems.
They are mounted on piles driven into the ground, which avoids the cost of concrete foundations and also makes them suitable for deployment on uneven ground. The tracking of each heliostat is controlled wirelessly. Finally, each heliostat is rotated using its own integrated solar cell and battery. Among other things, these features avoid the damage to the site that comes with pouring concrete foundations and, also, digging trenches for wiring.
“CASEN’s unique technology will be a significant contributor to the low CAPEX and O&M costs and to the rapid deployment that are hallmarks of our modular, scalable 247Solar Plants,” says Bruce N. Anderson, CEO. “We look forward to showcasing their capabilities as part of our demonstration plant in Morocco, which we expect to be operational later this year.” CASEN’s President, Zhu Zhili, adds: “247Solar Plants are the next big leap in clean energy, and so they are an ideal application for our next-generation heliostats. We greatly look forward to a mutually beneficial and long-term relationship as they deploy 247Solar plants around the world.”