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Frito-Lay Solar System
puts the Sun on Sunchips, takes advantage of Renewable Energy |
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The Frito-Lay plant in Modesto CA
has installed
Alstrom
Model ASTEG/HC-HTW-2-24-42-144 Steam Generator
to
manufacture their
“Sun
Chips”
brand utilizing solar collectors.
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The solar field is
made up of large curved mirrors (parabolic
trough collectors)
that move with the
position of the sun, focusing the heat into tubes of glass filled with
high temperature pressurized water.
That water is directed into the Alstrom Unfired Steam Generator, which converts
the energy into steam thereby heating the oil used to cook
Sun Chips.
This is the largest operating solar process heat system in the U.S., producing
over 8 million Btu/h (2.4 MW) of thermal energy under peak conditions.
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"This is the first time we're using the technology in this scenario," said
Aurora Gonzalez, spokeswoman for Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo. "You normally
use natural gas to heat the cookers. This is an alternative. It will generate
enough steam to produce the plant's
Sun Chips within a year." |
Modesto's sun-drenched climate made it a
natural choice for a solar farm,
Gonzalez said. The Modesto region
recorded 306 days in the past year that
weren't cloudy or partly cloudy,
according to statistics from the
National Weather Service.
For more information
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