Daggett SEGS 1 & II

Daggett - Location of First Solar Power Plants

Daggett (SEGS 1 & II)

The first two solar power plants of the Solar Electric Generating System (SEGS) were built at Daggett in Southern California about 155 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Constructed by LUZ Industries, the plants use parabolic trough technology and a conventional power cycle to collect solar radiation, which is then converted into useful thermal energy and, subsequently, electricity.

System Description

The basic concept of the SEGS plants is to supply thermal energy via the solar field to produce steam and drive a ?Rankine Cycle? steam turbine, which in turn drives an electric generator to produce power. 

The first plant, SEGS 1, was fully operational in 1985 and provided 13.8 MW of power at 585 Deg F. The size of the solar field is 82,960 sq meters. The first type of heat collecting element (HCE) called the LS1 was installed at that plant. This is the first (of three) generations of collecting elements, which were subsequently improved significantly.

The second plant, SEGS II has been continuously operational since 1986. Turbine capacity is 30 MW, and temperature of the HTF reaches 680 Deg F. The size of the field increased to 199,000 Sq Meters. At SEGS 2, two types of Heat collecting assemblies (SCA) are in operation. The  LS-1 and the LS-2.

  

Major Characteristics	LS-1	LS-2	LS-3
Area (m2)	128	235	545
Mirror Segments	64	120	224
Aperture of parabolic mirror (m)	2.55	5.0	5.76
Length (m)	50.2	48.7	95.2
HCE Diameter (mm)	43	70	70
Concentration Ratio	61	71	82
Continuous Working Temperature (C)	300	360	390

Conclusions

The technology at Daggett served as a platform or first stage in the development of solar trough technology and proved the commercial viability of this revolutionary technology.