Advances in solarrntower technology

摘要

This article begins with a short introduction and continues with a presentation ofrnsolar tower power plants around the world. The focus is set on the developmentsrnof the last five years and in the near future of the most important components ofrna central receiver system (CRS). For each of the components, a description of eachrntechnology, its applicability, and the advantages and disadvantages is presented.rnThe chapter also includes a state of the art review for almost each system andrnpoints out the Research and Development (R&D) needs. A further issue is thernchoice of the heat-transfer fluid (HTF) as well as the improvement of new solarrntower power plant cycle systems. The paper introduces recent R&D activities,rnwith the majority occurring in Europe and the United States, as has been presentedrnin international journals and conferences by scientific personnel. It alsornreflects opinions of experts who specialized in the planning and erection of solarrnpower plants and carrying out CRS research projects. The future effort of R&D inrnthese fields should improve efficiencies, increase durability and reliability, andrnreduce investment and Operation & Maintenance (O&M) costs. Nowadays, andrnin this decade, the most advances in CRS occur in the United States, in Europe,rnand in China. Furthermore, a great interest, especially for add-ons to existingrnresearch platforms as well as the construction of new ones, can be observed forrnthe last years for countries in the Middle East & North Africa region, such asrnMorocco as well as India, Australia, and South Africa.