The solar thermal power station at Lebrija (Andalusia) built by Siemens and Valoriza has started to feed electricity into the grid.

The solar thermal power plant at Lebrija, Southern Andalusia, Spain.
Photo: Siemens
The plant, which has a rated capacity of 50 MW, was entered into the Spanish energy register RIPRE (Registro de Instalaciones de Producción en Régimen Especial) at the end of December, and now receives the corresponding feed-in remuneration.

For the parabolic trough power station, Siemens supplied the entire solar field, complete with solar receiver, collectors and mirrors as well as the steam turbine. The company also took care of systems integration and engineering. Valoriza was responsible for construction work, the power block and the system for the heat transfer medium. The two companies will jointly take care of operating and maintaining the plant.

The solar field in Lebrija consists of more than 400,000 m2 of mirrors, which are installed on around 6,000 collectors, each with 28 individual mirrors.
Ted Scheidegger, CEO at Siemens Solar Hydro Division, explains: "Climate-friendly solar thermal energy continues to have an interesting potential. New applications and reduced costs will open up new market opportunities for this environmentally friendly technology. Research and development are of paramount importance. Currently, Siemens is implementing a road map for the reduction of costs and for new applications."