Heliostat layout optimization for load-following solar tower plants

Elisa Ghirardi, Giovanni Brumana, Giuseppe Franchini and Antonio Perdichizzi

Renewable Energy, 2021, vol. 168, issue C, 393-405

Abstract: An optimization procedure to design the heliostat layout in Solar Tower plants is introduced in the present paper. Whilst typically the mirror layout generation aims to maximize the annual power production, the model presented in this work determines the optimal heliostat distribution when the overall efficiency is maximized (and the LCOE is minimized) for specific periods of the year. This is crucial for CSP plants operating in island mode or within isolated grids, where the power demand is variable throughout the year and massively concentrated in certain months, and the backup units have limited capacity. The study focuses on a solar field corresponding to a nominal power of 5 MWe.

Keywords: Solar tower; Heliostat field; Concentrated solar power; Optimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:168:y:2021:i:c:p:393-405

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2020.12.066

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