Hi,
The bright boiler on top of Ashalim Solar Thermal Power Station can be seen from far away around the western Negev, and also blind you for a short time (it said it can also be seen from ISS), giving it the nickname Eye of Sauron.
This is a solar power tower kind of thermal power station – the boiler standing on top of a high concrete tower. (which used to be the highest in the world). A field of 50,600 heliostats, controlled by computer, concentrate the sunlight to the tank. The fluid in the boiler is then used to turn a turbine that produces electricity. This power station produces 121 MW (0.6% of all Israel power capacity)
Another small experiment thermal power station is placed in the Rotem industrial area near Dimona. I remember passing by it several times on my way to Dead Sea Works.
A thermal power tower is one type of thermal solar energy. Another way is by using parabolic mirrors with a pipe in the middle (this type is called parabolic through). From this point, the system works the same as the same: the boiling fluid is used to run a heat engine to produce electricity.
There is also that kind of thermal solar power station in Ashalim, which produces another 121 MW of electricity (which is also 0.6% of all Israel power capacity)
The third and smallest part of the Ashalim thermal power station is a 30 MW polo-voltage field. The same kind my parents have on their roof, but in a different magnitude. Many of those fields are spread around the area.
Take Care
Gad
Ashalim thermal tower power station
Zoom in
Zoom in
The boiler on top of the tower
The thermal power tower in the evening when it cools down
The boiler cools down
The boiler concrete tower during construction, from one of the engineers Whatsapp profile
Ariel view of the power plant (Source: mosessco.com)
The solar tower from around Mizpe Ramon
Intriguing sight! A bright dot in the Negev desert…so unusual to see human-made lights in day passes! It’s a concentrated solar power plant, one of the technologies to get renewable energy from the Sun. With one of the world’s tallest solar power towers! #MissionMinerva pic.twitter.com/MFbCpXpxmG
— Samantha Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) August 25, 2022
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