2012-04-26
Go to: News ListAKO has finished the start-up of its AKOTRACE® System in the Andasol III Solar Thermal Power Plant
The company has completed the delivery, installation and start-up of the global electrical heat-tracing project of the 3 Andasol thermo-electric power stations
AKO, the leading Spanish company in Temperature Regulation and Control using Electrical Heat-Tracing solutions, has completed the supply, installation and start-up process of its AKOTRACE® System in the Andasol III Power Station, with thermoelectric solar generation using parabolic trough collectors technology, that completes the 3 solar thermal power stations with the same name, where AKO has traced the station's salt, HTF (oil) and BOP (steam) system in the works carried out at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, specifically in the town of La Calahorra (Granada-Spain).
The company, that started to study the Andasol III project in July 2010 and started its work on the site at the end of that year, is currently extending the application of its solution in the BOP area (steam), with its turnkey AKOTRACE® electrical heat-tracing system, to answer the needs of the Andasol III Solar Thermal Power Station, monitoring and acting on the active points that need to be specially controlled in order not to interfere in the station's production.
AKO's extensive knowledge and experience, together with the work carried out with the Temporary Joint Venture made up of Ingeniería Flagsol GmbH, Duro Felguera SA, Ferrostaal AG and Solar Millennium AG., has ensured the correct operation of the Electrical Heat-Tracing system, critical in this type of facility, given the high operating temperatures to be maintained, that can exceed 400 ºC.
Specifically, AKO Project Engineering team has carried out the Salt System study in detail, providing preventive solutions to prevent non-desired stoppages of the station or a loss of performance in its operation, and to maximise the number of operating days. Its AKODUO TRACE control system also manages to remotely control and monitor any anomaly in the station, offering the capacity for solving it, minimising actions and cutting the supervision and maintenance costs that this entails.
In recent years the company has been awarded the tender for supplying and assembling the Electrical-Heat Tracing of numerous Spanish Solar Thermal Power Stations, the following of which are worthy of mention Andasol I and II (Granada), Extresol I and II (Badajoz), Manchasol I and II (Ciudad Real), Gemasolar (Seville), Alvarado I (La Risca), Palma del Río I and II, Lebrija I (Seville) y Samcasol I and II (Badajoz).
AKO is currently executing other large-scale projects in solar thermal power stations such as Extresol III (Badajoz), Astexol II (Badajoz), Aste 1A and 1B (Ciudad Real) and Consol-Orellana (Badajoz) where AKO demonstrates its flexibility and capacity for carrying out different works simultaneously, as well as achieving station start-ups without hitches and meeting the deadline set by the customer.
