Original image of solar power generation geothermal installation

Why is Stillwater a geothermal power plant?

Stillwater was the first geothermal power plant to be paired with solar photovoltaic generation and is also the first to be coupled with concentrating solar power field on a major utility scale. When completed, it will be the first power plant to incorporate the three renewable technologies. 1. INTRODUCTION

How much energy does a solar field add to a geothermal power plant?

The project consists of collectors, a heat exchanger, a circulating pump and a control system integrated with the geothermal plant. The solar field adds about 17 megawatts of thermal energy, and is estimated to add an equivalent of up to 2 megawatts of boost in power generation to the geothermal power plant.

What is a geothermal-solar plant?

A geothermal-solar plant operating at a low-temperature gradient so geothermal brine is able of providing more output than development or implementation in a sub-critical ORC unit. The extra privilege of the geothermal and solar unit is that it is able of conveying nonstop and non-variable power during the acting hours of the unit.

How can geothermal energy be used as a power plant?

Increasing the utilization of geothermal resources such as potential and better use of lower temperature geothermal resources. Geothermal fluids can be served as the storage of solar energy. Increasing the capacity factor of geothermal power plants by increasing the amount of steam generated with the addition of solar heat.

How can geothermal and solar power systems be improved?

The quality of both geothermal and solar energies may be upgraded by optimizing the hybrid configurations and by heating up the low-temperature geothermal fluids with solar energy. Hybrid solar-geothermal systems may perform better than stand-alone geothermal or solar power systems in terms of economic profit and thermal efficiency.

Can PV panels be used in a geothermal power plant?

The inclusion of PV panels in a geothermal power plant does not fit in the mechanism of increasing thermal efficiency by raising the temperature of geothermal fluids with the addition of solar heat. However it may be able to cope with the peak power demand during day time, which is helpful to extend the lifespan of geothermal fields. Fig. 32.