Siemens has announced at the CSP Summit in Seville the release of a new solar receiver, the UVAC 2010 (Universal Vacuum Air Collector), which further increases thermal heat production. The new UVAC 2010 is the next generation of the best-selling UVAC receiver, which is the key component for the solar fields of parabolic-trough power plants. More than 150,000 UVACs have been successfully installed in commercially operating power plants. Just recently, Siemens acquired Solel Solar Systems Ltd., a successful company in the future-oriented solar power sector, as an addition to its existing solar portfolio and to strengthen its market position in the promising business of solar thermal power plants.
The UVAC 2010 features extremely high solar absorption, reduced heat loss and an enlarged active area, offering solar field developers significantly increased revenues and reduced operating costs. Using high-tech coatings, UVAC 2010 absorbs maximum solar energy and converts it into heat used to produce electricity. No single component has more influence on the commercial success of the solar field. The power block and the solar field equipped with high-efficiency receivers are the key components of every parabolic-trough power plant. These power plants are the solar-based power generation technology with the best track record of all utility-scale solar technologies.
The UVAC 2010 features improved emissivity (heat loss) as a result of technological advances in the sputtered selective coatings, as well as an improved active area to length ratio, which enables greater solar exposure of the receiver and a proportionate increase in absorbed energy. Its superior heat loss levels — below 9% — provide developers with greater efficiency.
Until 2020, the market for solar thermal power plants will show annual double-digit growth rates and attain a volume of over EUR20 billion. In the future, the primary focal growth regions will be the U.S., South Africa, Australia, Spain, India, North Africa and the Middle East.
Products and solutions for solar thermal power plants are part of Siemens’ Environmental Portfolio. In fiscal 2009, revenue from the Portfolio totaled about EUR23 billion, making Siemens the world’s largest supplier of ecofriendly technologies. In the same period, our products and solutions enabled customers to reduce their CO2 emissions by 210 million metric tons.
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The Siemens Energy Sector is the world’s leading supplier of a complete spectrum of products, services and solutions for the generation, transmission and distribution of power and for the extraction, conversion and transport of oil and gas. In fiscal 2008 (ended September 30), the Energy Sector had revenues of approximately EUR22.6 billion and received new orders totaling approximately EUR33.4 billion and posted a profit of EUR1.4 billion. On September 30, 2008, the Energy Sector had a work force of approximately 83,500. Further information is available at: www.siemens.com/energy.
