System performance and cost sensitivity comparisons of stretched membrane heliostat reflectors with current generation glass/metal concepts

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Abstract
Heliostat costs have long been recognized as a major factor in the cost of solar central receiver plants. Research on stretched membrane heliostats has been emphasized because of their potential as a cost-effective alternative to current glass/metal designs. However, the cost and performance potential of stretched membrane heliostats from a system perspective has not been studied until this time. The optical performance of individual heliostats is predicted here using results established in previous structural studies. These performance predictions are used to compare both focused and unfocused stretched membrane heliostats with state-of-the-art glass/metal heliostats from a systems perspective. We investigated the sensitivity of the relative cost and performance of fields of heliostats to a large number of parameter variations, including system size, delivery temperature, heliostat module size, surface specularity, hemispherical reflectance, and macroscopic surface quality. The results indicate that focused stretched membrane systems should have comparable performance levels to those of current glass/metal heliostat systems. Further, because of their relatively lower cost, stretched membrane heliostats should provide an economically attractive alternative to current glass/metal heliostats over essentially the entire range of design parameters studied. Unfocused stretched membrane heliostats may also be attractive for a somewhat more limited range of applications, includingmore » the larger plant sizes and lower delivery temperatures.« less

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