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SwRI, Collaborators Awarded SunShot Grant for CSP Combustor

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Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and its collaborators received a $3.8 million contract from the US Department of Energy to develop a novel gas turbine combustor for a concentrating solar power (CSP) hybrid gas turbine system.

The award was given through the DoE’s SunShot Initiative, a collaborative national effort to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of fuel.

Most commercial CSP plants today generate steam to support turbine electric power generation. The steam generated is limited to a maximum temperature of 400 °C, yielding approximately 40 percent thermal efficiencies. These are well below those achievable with gas turbine combined cycle plants, which can have thermal efficiencies well over 55 percent and as high as 62 percent for state-of-the-art combined cycle power plants.

SwRI’s project — in collaboration with Solar Turbines Inc., Oak Ridge National Laboratories, German Aerospace Center and San Diego State University — aims to combine the advantages of highly efficient gas turbine power plants with CSP systems by operating a gas turbine at up to 1000 °C combustor air inlet temperatures. The collaboration will develop an external gas turbine combustor that can be integrated with a hybrid CSP gas turbine power plant.

The project, to be conducted in three phases, is expected to begin in August and will continue through 2015. During phase 1, researchers will evaluate combustor concepts and develop the design. Phase 2 will entail the fabrication of the system, which will be tested in phase 3.

SwRI is an independent applied research and development organization.

For more information, visit: www.swri.org
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Published: July 2012
Glossary
photonics
The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The science includes light emission, transmission, deflection, amplification and detection by optical components and instruments, lasers and other light sources, fiber optics, electro-optical instrumentation, related hardware and electronics, and sophisticated systems. The range of applications of photonics extends from energy generation to detection to communications and...
AmericasBusinesscombined cycle plantscombustor air inlet temperaturesconcentrating solar powerCSPcycle power plantsenergygas turbinegas turbine combustorGerman Aerospace Centergreen photonicshybrid CSP gas turbinehybrid gas turbine systemOak Ridge National LaboratoryphotonicsSan Diego State UniversitySolar EnergySolar Turbines Inc.Southwest Research Institutesteam turbine electric power generationSunShot InitiativeSwRITexasUS Department of Energy

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