Solar steam supply: Initial operation of a plant

This paper describes experiences in operating a parabolic trough collector field for process heat supply by direct steam generation. The solar steam generator has been running automatically since its start in 2010 except for a winter pause up to now, August 2011, without any malfunction. It has supplied steam at 4 bar absolute and 143°C to the main production steam line on sunny days. Direct steam generation has proven to be a viable technology to supply saturated steam to an industrial steam network. Only a few hydraulic components are necessary to set-up the installation, no major difficulties occurred in implementing the control. The project has been supported by the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety