Solar power tower energy storage

What is a solar power tower?

A solar power tower is called a ‘Central Tower’ or ‘Heliostat’ power plant. It is a kind of solar-operated plant that utilises a tower design to focus the sunlight on it. The mirrors focus the sunlight onto a central tower acting as the receiver in this case.

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.

What is the storage capacity of a solar power plant?

The storage capacity is currently limited to 8 h, however, in few years is expected to reach up to 12 h decreasing its levelized cost of electricity; from 14.2 ($/kWh) in 2015 to 9 ($/KWh) in 2020 .

Where are solar power towers located?

The two existing power tower plants in the United States are in the California/Nevada desert: the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project (Figure 5) and Ivanpah Solar Power Facility (Figure 6). Crescent Dunes was designed with a capacity of 110MW and resides on 1,670 acres, including 296 acres of heliostats, each sized 115m2.

What is thermal energy storage?

Thermal energy storage provides a workable solution to the reduced or curtailed production when sun sets or is blocked by clouds (as in PV systems). The solar energy can be stored for hours or even days and the heat exchanged before being used to generate electricity .

Does solar energy have a 'long term' storage requirement?

Solar energy has a one-day period, meaning that the ‘long term’ storage requirements is based on hours. In that context, thermal energy storage technology has become an essential part of CSP systems, as it can be seen in Fig. 13, and has been highlighted over this review.