How do solar thermal towers work?

In solar thermal tower power plants with nearly planar mirrors focus solar radiation and direct it onto a receiver, which is located on the top of a tower. Very high temperatures in the receiver, resulting from this concentrated solar radiation enable generation of power plant process steam.

What is a solar power tower?

Solar Power Towers (SPT), also denominated Central Receiver Systems (CRS), are set up by a heliostats field which reflects solar radiation into a central receiver located atop a tower. These heliostats track the Sun with two axis. They are also considered as point focus collectors.

What are the components of a solar tower?

Main components of a solar tower are the heliostat field, the receiver, and the tower itself. A heliostat field is the sum of all heliostats of a solar tower. Heliostats are mirrors which are equipped with a two-axes tracking system in order to track the sun’s path.

How do solar tower power plants work?

By both systems, an increase of the capacity factor of the conventional power block of the solar tower power plant can be achieved. Through the integration of solar thermal storage or supplemental fossil or biomass firing, solar tower power plants produce dispatchable electricity to match peak demands at any time.

What is a concentrating receiver system (solar power tower)?

Concentrating Receiver Systems (Solar Power Tower). Figure 32 eSolar tower power plant (Source: eSolar) A field of 24,000 mirrors reflects solar heat to a thermal receiver mounted atop a central power tower. Each small heliostat has an aperture area of about 1.14 m 2.

What is a power tower concentrating solar power plant?

In summary, the power tower concentrating solar power plant, at the heart of which lies the heliostat, is a very promising area of renewable energy. Benefits include high optical concentration ratios and operating temperatures, corresponding to high efficiency, and an ability to easily incorporate thermal energy storage.