Techno-Economic Analysis on Optimum Size of a Heliostat for High-Temperature Applications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52825/solarpaces.v3i.2423Keywords:
Concentrating Solar Thermal Power, Solar Tower Systems, Techno-Economic Analysis, Industrial Process HeatAbstract
This study investigates the impact of heliostat size on the levelized cost of heat (LCOH) and explores the trade-off between performance and cost for a baseline 160 MWth concentrating solar thermal (CST) tower system at high temperatures (565°C – 1550°C). The analysis assumes blackbody radiation for thermal losses at the receiver and employs ray tracing to assess optical losses in the heliostat field. A surrogate cost model is used to break down component costs for a specific commercial heliostat design (i.e., SunRing), considering volume production and operations and maintenance (O&M) costs to determine installation costs. The results indicate that heliostat size significantly affects the LCOH at different temperatures, with installation costs being a crucial factor in determining the optimal heliostat size. These installation costs vary by temperature and plant size due to power requirements and volume production considerations. The results motivate ongoing research to further refine the cost model and explore the projects of different sizes.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Ahmed Gamil, Alexander Zolan, Chad Augustine, Guangdong Zhu, Kenneth Armijo
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Accepted 2025-04-22
Published 2025-10-09
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Solar Energy Technologies Office
Grant numbers 38488