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GLOBAL RENEWABLES ONLINE - FEBRUARY / MARCH 2012
already the market leader in
steam turbines for solar thermal
power plants and, with the power
block, we can offer a key part for
solar power plants – the part that
is responsible for power genera-
tion”, says John Hazakis, head
of Solar and Hydro at Siemens
Southern Africa. Hazakis says
that Siemens was the f irst steam
turbine supplier to re-enter the
CSP market in the 21st century,
pioneering commercial solutions
in the US and Spain. Today,
Siemens is the world market
leader in steam turbines for CSP
plants, and has more than 20
years of experience with steam
turbines for daily cycling.
With the acquisition of Solel in
2009, Siemens now boasts high-
eff iciency receiver technology
and comprehensive expertise in
the engineering and construc-
tion of solar f ields. “We are able
to offer the key components for
the construction of parabolic
trough power plants from a single
source and to further enhance
the eff iciency of these plants,
and this expertise is available
for our customers in Africa”, adds
Hazakis.
“The roll-out of Concentrated
Solar Power in South Africa and
the rest of Africa is not only good
for ensuring a sustainable source
of electricity, it also offers huge
potential for job creation and
localisation, says Hazakis. “How-
ever, to create a sustainable
industry more capacity needs to
be allocated to CSP technology
to ensure that the necessary
investments can be made in local
manufacturing and skills devel-
opment.”
Theodor Scheidegger, the
global CEO of the Siemens Solar
and Hydro Division is one of the
key speakers at the CSP Today
2012 Conference. His presenta-
tion entitled, “A-Z Guide on Solar
and Technology” will highlight
Siemens’ international experi-
ence and expertise in the f ield of
solar power and its benef its for
Africa. At the expo, Siemens is
showcasing its CSP parabolic
model. “This parabola is ideal for
South African conditions and is
being showcased at the perfect
time, as customers and investors
will get the opportunity to see
and touch the innovative
technology while discussing the
big plans for the roll-out of CSP
in South Africa, and the
continent”, says Hazakis.
Siemens CSP power plants are
very much like a standard power
plant, with an energy source,
steam, and conversion of thermal
power to electricity. In these
plants the energy source is
sunlight, focused by parabolic
mirrors onto solar receivers
located in the focal line of the
parabolas. The entire parabola
moves to track the sun and
maximize the collection of solar
energy. A f luid, typically a
synthetic oil, f lows through the
receivers as a heat transfer
medium. In the process the f luid
is heated and its energy is
transferred via a heat exchanger
to water. The steam thus
produced is used to generate
electricity in a steam turbine-
generator.
Solar power plants are part of
Siemens’ Environmental Portfo-
lio. In f iscal 2010, revenue from
the Portfolio totalled about
EUR28 billion, making Siemens
the world’s largest supplier of
eco-friendly technologies. In the
same period, our products and
solutions enabled customers to
reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions by 270 million tons,
an amount equal to the total
annual CO2 emissions of the
megacities Hong Kong, London,
New York, Tokyo, Delhi and
Singapore.
The Siemens Energy Sector is
the world’s leading supplier of a
complete spectrum of products,
services and solutions for power
generation in thermal power
plants and using renewables,
power transmission in grids and
for the extraction, processing
and transport of oil and gas. In
f iscal 2011 (ended September
30), the Energy Sector had
revenues of EUR27.6 billion and
received new orders totaling
approximately EUR34.8 billion
and posted a prof it of more than
EUR4.1 billion. On September
30, 2011, the Energy Sector had
a work force of more than 97,000.
Effective October 1, 2011, the
Power Distribution Division with
a work force of more than 15,000
was reassigned to the new
Infrastructure & Cities Sector.
Further information is avail-
able at:
er
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