Hybrid Solar Energy Plant In Florida

The newest hybrid model isn’t a car, but the world’s first hybrid solar energy plant that went on the grid last week in Martin County Florida. The Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center is Florida Power and Light’s (FPL) latest innovation to launch Florida as the clean energy state. Working in conjunction with an existing natural gas power plant, the 190,000 solar thermal mirrors track and harness the sun’s rays via hydraulic motors. That energy is then converted into electricity and offsets the use of the natural gas. The natural gas plant then becomes a stored energy plant serving as a back-up energy source.

FPL- Solar Thermal Mirrors

Sitting on 500 acres of FPL-owned land, the 75 megawatt facility will power 11,000 Florida homes and has already created over 1,000 jobs. According to FPL’s press release, the hybrid plant is expected to

reduce fossil fuel consumption by approximately 41 billion cubic feet of natural gas and more than 600,000 barrels of oil – which would prevent the release of more than 2.75 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions and save FPL customers approximately $178 million in fuel costs over the facility’s estimated 30-year lifetime.

Though many solar thermal plants function as hybrids by burning oil at times of low sunlight, the Martin Energy Center is the first to combine a natural gas plant with solar thermal energy. It’s the last of 3 solar facilities built by FPL in the past 2 years, yet plans are underway to add another 500 megawatts of solar power to the state.

While the 75 megawatt system may seem small in comparison to the 3,800 megawatt gas plant, the environmental benefits are still quite significant. Florida is setting itself up to be a leader in using innovative technology and finding economic solutions in the effort to diversify energy sources and harness that abundant Florida sunshine. Oh, and in the event of one of those Florida hurricanes, the solar mirrors turn upside down for protection.

Via: Palm Beach Post

The “Clean Technology Tower” is a highly efficient building which will be constructed in Chicago. The tower will have wind turbines positioned at the corners of the building, to capture wind at its highest velocity as it accelerates around the tower. At the apex, where wind speeds are at a maximum, a domed double roof cavity directs the wind towards an array of wind turbines. The negative pressure created by the turbines will be used to ventilate interior spaces. The dome itself is shaded by solar cells that capture the southern sun.

The complex includes over 1.8 million square feet of office space as well as a 300,000 square foot hotel, a spa and street-level retail.

It was designed by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill, the same firm who designed the recently featured solar Masdar Headquarters.

This tower in Chicago is an evolution of the Pearl River Tower which both Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill were responsible for while at SOM. Where Pearl River used the face of the building to funnel wind into two large turbine zones this design uses an array of smaller turbines at the corners of the building to catch the wind at its highest velocity.