The Themis Program and the 2500-KW Themis Solar Power Station at Targasonne

Following the first oil crisis, the French Agency for Energy Conservation (A.E.E.) setup in 1975, devoted its time and efforts towards saving energy both in industry and in housing. This effort was expanded by our government in 1978, when the French solar energy authority, known as COMES, was created: it concentrated on R and D pertaining to new and renewable energy. Early this year, these two agencies were merged together to create the French Agency for the Management of Energy (FAME), which includes geothermal and heat distribution networks. This decision now gives the French government the tool to implement a very ambitious and diversified program, calling at the same time on energy conservation and on new and renewable energies development. An important part of the R and D program set up by FAME is the thermodynamic conversion program. On one side, the program devotes itself to the development of components and systems, among them the THEK program which deals with parabolic dishes. These could be used not only for heat generation purposes or electricity generation but also in stand alone systems, for example to refrigerate and conserve fish, a useful application in the developing countries. On the other side, themore » program calls for the implementation of pilot plants in order to experiment with these components and thermodynamic cycles. Such a pilot plant is nearing completion near Ajaccio in Corsica, and is due for operation early next year. Partial tests have already been run. It was a distributed collector parabolic trough array and a Rankine cycle turbine.« less