|
29 March 2007 - Italian utility Enel is working to implement a plan to build the world's first solar power plant on the east coast of Sicily.
The plant, which is scheduled for completion by 2009, was approved this week by the Italian government. The project, named Archimedes, will combine solar power with energy created by gas. The plant is designed to produce 5 MW of electricity, the amount needed for about 4500 families.
Archimedes will store solar energy by focusing the sun on pipes using parabolic mirrors. The pipes will be filled with a saline liquid that can store heat of more than 1000 degrees for several hours.
"With Archimedes we intend to combine the best technology of today with that of tomorrow," said Sandro Fontecedro, director of the energy division of formerly state-owned electricity company Enel.
"We are moving from the laboratory to the industrial phase," said Luigi Paganetto, the president of Enea, an agency specializing in alternative energy.
| 
Articles 
| View all PennWell sites | View all PennWell events
Add RSS Feed
