DESIGN, TESTING, AND COMMERCIALIZATION PLANS FOR THE SAIC/STM 20 kW_e SOLAR DISH/STIRLING SYSTEM

摘要

As a part of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Utility-Scale Joint-Venture Program, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and Stirling Thermal Motors (STM) have teamed to produce a solar dish/Stirling system for utility electricity generation. The 90 m~2 dish concentrator consists of 16 stretched membrane mirror facets on a truss structure with an azimuth/elevation gear drive. The design modifies a faceted stretched membrane dish design developed previously by SAIC and WGA, Inc. in order to simplify the structure and reduce manufacturing costs. The Stirling engine used in the system is the STM 4-120 kinematic Stirling engine. It features variable swashplate control and a direct absorption solar receiver with hydrogen as the operating fluid.A prototype dish/Stirling system has been installed at a test site near Golden, Colorado and is now undergoing tests. The optical and thermal performance of the dish is being characterized using a cold-water calorimeter and the optical Beam Characterization System (BCS) developed by Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After completion of the dish characterization tests, the STM engine will be installed on the dish and system power generation and efficiency will be measured.This paper presents a summary of the SAIC/STM dish/Stirling system design and gives results from initial testing of the system. Also described are SAIC's plans for manufacturing and commercialization of the dish/Stirling system to utilities and other markets in the U.S. and abroad.