Solys 2 Sun Tracker in the Pyrenees
Published: Friday, February 20, 2009
The project PEGASE, located at the Themis solar test site near Targasonne in the Eastern Pyrenees, combines solar energy and gas-turbines to generate electricity. A SOLYS 2 sun tracker has been installed to analyse the site and the efficiency of the complete solar energy system.
Since 2006, CNRS-PROMES, a leading centre for concentrating solar systems, has been working on a project called PEGASE (Production of Electricity from Gas and Solar Energy). It aims to design and evaluate an innovative hybrid system that combines solar energy and gas-turbines for electricity generation. The project is located at the Themis solar test site near Targasonne in the Eastern Pyrenees.
A SOLYS 2 sun tracker and a set of solar sensors (for global, direct and diffuse radiation measurement) have been installed on the top of the 100m high tower, facing the field of 201 concentration mirrors. Together with other meteorological sensors, Kipp & Zonen instruments will help the researchers and energy companies to precisely characterise the site, to control parts of the installation (such as the heliostats and the solar receiver) and to analyse the efficiency of the complete system.
With this experimental project, CNRS-PROMES is looking in the near future to improve the efficiency and reduce the costs of generating clean solar energy.
