Coal Power Plant with Solar Energy

Solar energy and coal is something we never thought to mention in one paragraph, and that doesn´t mean that coal plants are being converted into clean ones, but at least efforts are being made to give the highly polluting energy source a more sustainable momentum.

The Research Institute of Electric Power has launched two projects to implement solar energy in existing power plants based on coal.

The two plants that have adopted these solar improvements are a 245 MW plant in New Mexico, and another 742 MW in North Carolina.

Coal is burned to produce steam, which pass through turbines to generate electricity. Two pilot plants, concentrating the sun to boil water and generate steam, (technology widely used in Spain), which is introduced into the steam generated by the burning heat and thus exchanging polluting vapor for cleaner steam.

The idea is promising. This new renewable steam introduced to system will allow generate the same amount of energy to burning less coal to generate it. It’s like a hybrid car, an attempt to reduce the emissions of gaseous pollutants in existing technologies.

We need to be realistic, coal plants will not disappear in the near future, and the idea of making hybrid solar/coal plants seems a very viable option to reduce their environmental impact.

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