Operation & Maintenance of Concentrating Solar Power Systems

Overview

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) is a technology that uses mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight onto a small area. The concentrated light is then used to produce heat, which can either be used directly or can be used generate electricity, e.g. via a steam turbine. Effective Operation & Maintenance (O&M) of CSP systems are crucial for maximizing energy production and minimizing costs.

Our research focuses on developing O&M methods to enhance the cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and reliability of CSP systems. Specifically, we are working on:

1. Advanced techniques for controlling heliostats — the mirrors that track the sun and focus sunlight onto the receiver. Our goal is to increase the amount of solar energy harvested while reducing the risk of failures in both the heliostat drivers and the receivers.

2. Soiling Prediction & Mitigation – he accumulation of dust and dirt on the surface of solar collectors (e.g. heliostats) is a significant issue in solar power, especially CSP. This dust accumulation reduces the reflectance of the mirrors, leading to decreased efficiency and energy production. The extent of soiling can vary greatly depending on the location and strongly affects the economics of the plant. Our research projects involve characterizing soiling rates through experiments and airborne dust measurements, developing cost-effective cleaning strategies, and using data to create predictive models for better cleaning planning.

3. Dispatching of stored energy – A key advantage of CSP is thermal energy storage. We are developing methodologies and algorithms to optimizing the dispatch of this stored energy to maximize profitability. We explore various strategies, including model-predictive control (MPC) and stochastic optimization to handle uncertainties in weather forecasts and electricity prices.