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SkyTrough

Parabolic Trough Concentrator

Next-Generation Solar
Parabolic Trough Technology
Product Information
Description
The SkyTrough

is a high performance parabolic trough concentrating

solar collector for use in utility scale solar thermal power plants or indus-
trial process heat applications. Its breakthrough design is patterned after
the best of the previous utility scale parabolic trough designs with impor-
tant innovations that improve performance and signicantly reduce cost.
SkyTrough

makes concentrating solar power the affordable, dispatch-

able choice for todays clean power markets.
Each SkyTrough

solar collector assembly is 115 meters long with an aper-

ture that is 6 meters in width. The collectors are modular and allow solar
elds of different sizes to t a wide variety of applications.
How It Works
The SkyTrough

concentrates sunlight onto an industry

leading evacuated thermal receiver, held with precision
along the full length of the of the collectors focal line.
A heat transfer uid ows through the receiver to absorb
the Suns energy and then delivers the thermal energy
to a heat exchanger, where it generates steam for power
generation or industrial processes.
SkyTrough

Attributes
High Performance
Unbreakable Mirrors
Rapid Field Assembly
Compact Transportation
Localized Manufacturing
Low Maintenance
Low Cost
Advantages
SkyTrough

collectors deliver the proven reliability of traditional glass mir-

ror parabolic trough systems, but with several performance and economic
advantages resulting from signicant design and material innovations.
Use of ReecTech

mirror lm allows the fabrication of light monolithic mir-

ror panels that are easy and quick to install, requiring no optical adjustment.
Each ReecTech

mirror panel is one third the weight of its sagged glass

mirror equivalent.
The lightweight aluminum space frame uses less material, is easier to trans-
port, and requires less time and labor to assemble in the eld than steel
torque tube or torsion box designs.
The rugged OnSun

integrated control and drive system provides highly

accurate positioning using a helical, hydraulic rotary actuator and the
SkyTrakker

control board for precision tracking.

Construction
The highly reective surface of the SkyTrough

is a glass-
free, silvered polymer called ReecTech

PLUS mirror lm.
This proprietary mirror lm is weather resistant, easy to
maintain, lightweight, abrasion resistant, and commercially
proven. When laminated to aluminum sheet and integrated
into the SkyTrough

frame, ReecTech

PLUS lm forms
the most optically accurate parabolic mirror in existence.
The space frame is made of extruded aluminum struts
and is self-aligning when joined together with fasteners,
requiring no welding. The entire assembly is mounted on
pylons and attached to a self-locking rotary hydraulic drive
enabling the SkyTrough

to pivot and track the Sun.

SkyTrough

solar collectors in operation at

SEGS II in Daggett, California.
Parabolic Trough Concentrator
SkyTrough

Control and Drive:

At the center of the SkyTrough

is a rotary hydraulic actuator

for precise tracking controlled by the SkyTrakker

.
Highest Optical Performance:
The clear image of the receiver tube in the mirrors illustrates the
SkyTrough

s optical accuracy the highest in the industry.

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Proven Performance
A SkyTrough

collector loop, with ReecTech

mirror lm and
OnSun

tracking system, has been operating at SEGS II in

Daggett, California since February 2010. Performance data
collected from the operating loop conrm the 73 % thermal
efciency predicted by testing at the U.S. National Renewable
Energy Lab (NREL). The ReecTech

lm has demonstrated
optical durability of over 30 years in NRELs Ultra Accelerated
Weathering System.
Localization
Over 50 % of SkyTrough components can be sourced in most
countries. This includes extruded aluminum members for the
space frames, steel weldments for the pylon supports, and
aluminum sheet for the mirror panels.
Availability
The SkyTrough

is ready today, for global delivery. Please con-

tact us to learn more about the SkyTrough

and how it can

become a part of your solar thermal project.
The SkyTrough

is robust and versatile, capable of deliver-

ing thermal energy to new solar power plant projects, existing
power plants, or industrial process heat applications.
Novel Rib and Panel Structure:
The SkyTrough

features an innovative space frame design and introduces a rib

and panel mirror structure a rst for large-scale parabolic trough.
SkyTrough

Thermal Efciency Curve (1000 W/m

2
)
The orange line is the thermal efciency of the SkyTrough

based on
combined optical efciency and receiver heat loss measurements from
NREL.
At average operating temperature (350 C) of a parabolic trough solar
collector used for utility-scale power generation, efciency () = 0.737.
T
h
e
r
m
a
l

E
f

c
i
e
n
c
y

(

)
T
Heat Transfer Fluid
(C)
SkyTrough

Specications
Geometry
Total Solar Collector Assembly
(1)
Length 115 m 377 ft
Net Aperture Area
(2)
656 m
2
7,061 ft
2
Number of Modules
(3)
8 per Solar Collector Assembly
(1)
Module Aperture Length 13.9 m 45.6 ft
Module Aperture Width 6 m 19.7 ft
Receiver Type Evacuated
Absorber Tube Diameter 80 or 90 mm 3.15 or 3.54 in
(1) The Solar Collector Assembly (SCA) length comprises the modules, pylons, control and drive, and ball joints (one at each end).
(2) Used for any metric expressed in [XYZ] / m
2

(3) A module is the parabolic mirror and receiver unit supported by a pair of pylons.
Performance
Thermal Efciency
(4)
73 %
Design Point Thermal Output
(4)
480 kW-th
(*)
Operating Temperature Range 200 - 500 C 392 - 932 F
Indicative Annual Energy Generation 1,000 MWh-th
(*)
Indicative Design Point Gross Electric Output
(5)
180 kW-e
(*)
Optical Efciency > 77 %
Typical Land Use 2 ha/MW-e 5 acre/MW-e
Maximum Installed Slope 4 %, gradient
Maximum Wind Speed (Stow) 135 km/h 84 mile/h 3 second gust
Maximum Wind Speed (Operation) 64 km/h 40 mile/h 3 second gust
40 km/h 25 mile/h sustained
(4) Dened as (Gross Thermal Power) / (Solar Power) at 1,000 W/m
2
of direct normal incident solar radiation
and 350C heat transfer uid temperature.
(5) At 37.5 % steam turbine efciency
(*) kW-th = Kilowatt Thermal; MWh-th = Megawatt-Hour Thermal; kW-e = Kilowatt Electric
Mirrors
Structural Backing Aluminum Sheet
Reective Surface ReecTech

PLUS
Specular Reectance
(6)
94 %
(6) At 1.4 acceptance angle measured with a Device & Services Specular Reectometer
SkyTrakker

Controller
Controller Communications Network RS485 Wired or 2.4 GHz
Wireless Radio Frequency
Parabolic Trough Concentrator
SkyTrough

For more information, please contact:

info@SkyFuel.com
SkyFuel, Inc.
18300 West Highway 72, Arvada, CO 80007, USA
1.303.330.0276
www.SkyFuel.com
2011 SkyFuel, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
SkyTrough

Brochure 2011.11
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