The main objective of the OMSoP project, which has started in February 2013, is to develop and demonstrate
advanced technical solutions for concentrated solar power systems coupled to MGT to produce electricity in the
range of 3-10 kW. The system is destined to fulfil energy needs for domestic and small commercial applications
while, for larger energy needs, the units can be stacked by virtue of their modular nature. Furthermore the proposed
system can be integrated with medium and long term thermal storage or with a back-up system powered by
conventional fuels or biofuels to assure electricity generation in the absence of solar insolation.
M. Lanchi et al. / Energy Procedia 69 ( 2015 ) 1317 – 1326 1319
The principal technical challenge is to enable the production of small scale cost effective, efficient, reliable and
easy to maintain units for either on or off-grid applications. The whole system will be built and tested at the ENEA
Casaccia site (near Rome) to demonstrate its functionality. The consortium is composed of SMEs and Research
institutions with a track record in all the aspects required to design, build and demonstrate the system (The City
University, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, ENEA, Innova Solar Energy, Compower AB, Kungliga Tekniska
Hoegskolan, Universidad de Sevilla, European Turbine Network). The main components of the system, whose
conceptual layout is reported in Fig. 1, are the solar dish concentrator, the receiver and the MGT. The solar receiver,
positioned in correspondence of the focal point of the dish, absorbs and converts the concentrated radiation into
sensible heat of the working fluid, which is then processed by the MGT for producing electricity.