Environment & Energy | Wednesday 13 May, 2015 9:42 am |

Dow Chemical (Dow) will once again be showcasing its range of proven world-class innovations and solutions serving the Middle East’s Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) industry, at the 7th edition of MENASOL. Taking place from 13-14 May 2015, in Dubai, UAE, Dow’s CSP solutions will be on display with a team of technical and project experts on hand to demonstrate and walk visitors through their unique features.

In 2014, a record number of solar projects were awarded in the Middle East & Africa, with a combined capacity of 294 MW, a four-fold increase over the previous seven years combined. In the Middle East and Africa, Dow has been the supplier of choice for a number of large-scale CSP projects; notably, the Noor 1 160MW CSP Plant in Morocco and the Bokpoort 50MW CSP Plant and Kaxu Solar One in South Africa.

Noor 1 is the first CSP project of its kind in Morocco, a 160 MW plant which will have three hours of storage. The Noor 1 complex is set to develop into a 500 megawatt solar park, incorporating several utility-scale solar power plants using various solar technologies. Bokpoort on the other hand will have a net generation capacity of 50 megawatt with nine hours of thermal energy storage and is part of the second round of the South African Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program. Once completed, it will be the CSP power plant with the longest amount of thermal storage in the world. Construction on Noor 1 and Bokpoort have begun, with both plants planned to go live in the second half of 2015. KaXu Solar One, the first Solar Thermal Electricity (STE) power plant in South Africa was commissioned in March 2015 and is expected to attract approximately $891mn in direct and indirect investment inflow into South Africa. The plant incorporates a storage system that enables production of about 100MW of solar energy for 2.5 hours after sunset or before dawn.

Worldwide, DOWTHERMTM A is the Heat Transfer Fluid of choice for more than 40 CSP plants, which combined, can provide enough electrical generation capacity to meet the needs of more than one million homes, equal to a saving of approximately five million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

Carolina Barrios, strategic marketing manager for Industrial Solutions said, “Over the last two years, the MENA region has seen an uptake for solar projects as this market has the assets to help develop CSP on a large-scale. Dow has been actively involved in contributing to projects in the region with our extensive production and storage capabilities, as well as flexibility in supply. This is a commitment we make to our partners from the R&D stage to help protect their CSP operation and ensure its long-term viability.”

Dow has been committed to CSP growth in the MENA region, most significantly through the support of emerging economies to overcome challenges through the use of its sustainable solutions that help countries to overcome challenges, such as less mature infrastructure.

This goes hand-in-hand with the company’s ability to provide solutions that ensure long term plant life and minimize maintenance costs. Dow takes a service approach when working with customers, to ensure that follow the development and deployment of the solution, its expertise are always available to help ensure consistency and optimization of its technologies.

Dow is a key player in promoting innovation in CSP and has collaborated with global partners to help develop next-generation solutions. Dow recently joined forces with Norwegian firm NEST (New Energy Storage Technology) AS on a Thermal Energy Storage (TES) pilot project in Abu Dhabi, in association with Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. In aid of this research, Dow will supply it’s DOWTHERMTM A heat transfer fluid.

For more than 80 years, DOWTHERMTM A Fluid has proven to be the most thermally stable synthetic organic fluid under the sun, capable of withstanding temperatures as high as 400°C (750°F) to collect, transport and store heat in CSP systems, while operating in either liquid or vapor phase. The extreme temperature capabilities of DOWTHERMTM A enable this versatile, high purity fluid to operate for several years with excellent and consistent thermal stability, as well as improved overall fluid life. Moreover, the low viscosity of the fluid throughout its operating temperature ensures strong system efficiency and pumpability.

Dow’s solutions will be available on Stand 01 at MENASOL at the Hyatt Regency Dubai, from 13-14 May.

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How CSP Works
CSP uses parabolic mirrors to reflect and magnify heat from the sun onto a closed circulating loop containing DOWTHERM™ A Heat Transfer Fluid. The fluid collects the heat energy and transports it to a power station where it is used to produce steam, which drives turbines to generate electricity.
Solar power technology like CSP offers many advantages in regions that require reliable new sources of energy. The technology helps diversify energy supply, is capable of producing power during periods of peak demand, and reduces dependence on fossil fuels. When used instead of fossil fuel generation plants, CSP facilities offer improved air quality and can help many nations to address off-set goals for carbon emission produced by existing fossil fuel power plants. Unlike photovoltaic solar power and wind energy technologies, CSP plants can operate in conjunction with cost-effective thermal storage technology to deliver energy on-demand, making CSP a highly flexible source of renewable energy.