A new method for the design of the heliostat field layout for solar tower power plant

• Published in: Renewable energy Vol. 35; no. 9; pp. 1970 - 1975
• Main Authors: Wei, Xiudong, Lu, Zhenwu, Wang, Zhifeng, Yu, Weixing, Zhang, Hongxing, Yao, Zhihao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Energy; Exact sciences and technology; Heliostat field layout; Natural energy; Optical efficiency; Solar energy; Solar thermal conversion; Solar thermal power plants; Solar tower power plant; Sunshine duration; Heliostat field layout; Optical efficiency; Sunshine duration; Solar tower power plant; Optical yield; Layout problem; Solar tower; Implementation; Optimization; Design; Heliostat field; Solar power plant; Performance
• ISSN: 0960-1481; 1879-0682
• DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2010.01.026

A new method for the design of the heliostat field layout for solar tower power plant is proposed. In the new method, the heliostat boundary is constrained by the receiver geometrical aperture and the efficiency factor which is the product of the annual cosine efficiency and the annual atmospheric transmission efficiency of heliostat. With the new method, the annual interception efficiency does not need to be calculated when places the heliostats, therefore the total time of design and optimization is saved significantly. Based on the new method, a new code for heliostat field layout design (HFLD) has been developed and a new heliostat field layout for the PS10 plant at the PS10 location has been designed by using the new code. Compared with current PS10 layout, the new designed heliostats have the same optical efficiency but with a faster response speed. In addition, to evaluate the feasibility of crops growth on the field land under heliostats, a new calculation method for the annual sunshine duration on the land surface is proposed as well.