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{{Short description|Type of solar furnace with a tower receiving focused light}}{{About|a particular design of Solar thermal energy using mirrors|the astronomical instrument and other uses of the term|solar tower (disambiguation)|other tall structures used for electricity power generation|Energy tower (disambiguation)}}{{Multiple image|perrow=2/2/2|total_width=300|image1=Ivanpah Solar Power Facility Online.jpg|image2=Ivanpah Solar Power Facility (2).jpg|image3=PS10 solar power tower 2.jpg|image4=Ashalim Power Station (2022).jpg |image5=Thémis.jpg|image6=Solarthermisches Versuchskraftwerk Jülich STJ.jpg|footer=Concentrating solar power towers:

• Top: Solar towers of the Ivanpah facility, the world's largest solar thermal power station in the Mojave Desert, southeastern California
• Middle: PS10, the world's first commercial solar power tower in Andalusia, Spain (left) and Ashalim Power Station in Negev, Israel (right)
• Bottom: The THEMIS solar power tower in the Eastern Pyrenees, France (left) and the German experimental Jülich tower (right)

}}A solar power tower, also known as 'central tower' power plant or 'heliostat' power plant, is a type of solar furnace using a tower to receive focused sunlight. It uses an array of flat, movable mirrors (called heliostats) to focus the sun's rays upon a collector tower (the target). Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems are seen as one viable solution for renewable, pollution-free energy.WEB, The cost of Concentrated Solar Power fell by 47% between 2010 and 2019 {{!, REVE News of the wind sector in Spain and in the world |date=29 July 2020 |url=https://www.evwind.es/2020/07/29/the-cost-of-concentrated-solar-power-fell-by-47-between-2010-and-2019/76120 |access-date=2022-04-16 |language=en-US}}Early designs used these focused rays to heat water and used the resulting steam to power a turbine. Newer designs using liquid sodium have been demonstrated, and systems using molten salts (40% potassium nitrate, 60% sodium nitrate) as the working fluids are now in operation. These working fluids have high heat capacity, which can be used to store the energy before using it to boil water to drive turbines. Storing the heat energy for later recovery allows power to be generated continuously, while the sun is shining, and for several hours after the sun has set (or been clouded over).

Cost

{{Update section|date=December 2020}}In 2021, the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimated the cost of electricity from concentrated solar with 10 hours of storage at $0.076 per kWh in 2021, $0.056 per kWh in 2030, and $0.052 per kWh in 2050.WEB, CSP, 10hrs TES - Class 3 - Moderate, 2021, NREL Electricity Annual Technology Baseline (ATB),weblink National Renewable Energy Laboratory, In 2007, companies such as ESolar (then backed by Google.org) were developing cheap, low maintenance, mass producible heliostat components that were to reduce costs in the near future.Google's Goal: Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal November 27, 2007 ESolar's design used large numbers of small mirrors (1.14 m2), to reduce costs for installing mounting systems such as concrete, steel, drilling, and cranes. In October 2017, an article in GreenTech Media suggested that eSolar ceased business in late 2016.WEB,weblink Concentrated Solar Power Contender ESolar Goes AWOL, 12 October 2017, 13 June 2019, Deign, Jason, GreenTech Media, Improvements in working fluid systems, such as moving from current two tank (hot/cold) designs to single tank thermocline systems with quartzite thermal fillers and oxygen blankets will improve material efficiency and reduce costs further.

Design

File:Brigthsource Tower Ashalim.jpg|thumb|upright|Ashalim Power StationAshalim Power Station

• Some concentrating solar power (CSP) towers are air-cooled instead of water-cooled, to avoid using limited desert waterWEB,weblink FAQs, Brightsourceenergy.com, 2019-09-28,
• Flat glass is used instead of the more expensive curved glass
• Thermal storage to store the heat in molten salt containers to continue producing electricity while the sun is not shining
• Steam is heated to 500 Â°C to drive turbines that are coupled to generators which produce electricity
• Control systems to supervise and control all the plant activity including the heliostat array positions, alarms, other data acquisition and communication.

Generally, installations use from {{convert|150|ha|m2}} to {{convert|320|ha|m2}}.In 2023, Australia’s national science agency CSIRO tested a CSP arrangement in which tiny ceramic particles fall through the beam of concentrated solar energy, the ceramic particles capable of storing a greater amount of heat than molten salt, while not requiring a container that would diminish heat transfer.NEWS, Houser, Kristin, Aussie scientists hit milestone in concentrated solar power They heated ceramic particles to a blistering 1450 F by dropping them through a beam of concentrated sunlight.,weblink Freethink, 12 November 2023,weblink 15 November 2023, live,

Environmental concerns

There is evidence that such large area solar concentrating installations can burn birds that fly over them. Near the center of the array, temperatures can reach 550 Â°C which, with the solar flux itself, is enough to incinerate birds. More distant birds’ feathers can be scorched, leading to the eventual death of the bird. Ivanpah reported one bird scorching in every two minutes. Workers at the Ivanpah solar power plant call these birds "streamers," as they ignite in midair and plummet to the ground trailing smoke. During testing of the initial standby position for the heliostats, 115 birds were killed as they entered the concentrated solar flux. During the first 6 months of operations, a total of 321 birds were killed. After altering the standby procedure to focus no more than four heliostats on any one point, there have been no further bird fatalities.WEB The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility is classified as a greenhouse gas emitter by the State of California because it has to burn fossil fuel for several hours each morning so that it can quickly reach its operating temperature.NEWS

Commercial applications

Several companies have been involved in planning, designing, and building utility size power plants. There are numerous examples of case studies of applying innovative solutions to solar power. Beam-down (a variation of central receiver plants with Cassegrainian opticsJOURNAL, Mokhtar, Marwan Basem, 2011, The Beam-Down Solar Thermal Concentrator: Experimental Characterization and Modeling,weblink Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, i, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ){{Clarify|reason=please explain "beam down"|date=December 2020}} tower application is also feasible with heliostats to heat the working fluid.WEB,weblink Three solar modules of world's first commercial beam-down tower Concentrated Solar Power project to be connected to grid, 18 August 2019,

Novel applications

The Pit Power TowerPit Power Tower - Alternative Energy News Feb 2009Pit Power Tower US Patent combines a solar power tower and an aero-electric power towerEnergy tower in a decommissioned open pit mine. Traditional solar power towers are constrained in size by the height of the tower and closer heliostats blocking the line of sight of outer heliostats to the receiver. The use of the pit mine's "stadium seating" helps overcome the blocking constraint.As solar power towers commonly use steam to drive the turbines, and water tends to be scarce in regions with high solar energy, another advantage of open pits is that they tend to collect water, having been dug below the water table. The Pit Power Tower uses low heat steam to drive the pneumatic tubes in a co-generation system. A third benefit of re-purposing a pit mine for this kind of project is the possibility of reusing mine infrastructure such as roads, buildings, and electricity.

Solar power towers

List of solar power towers

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%;" !Name !! Developer/Owner !! Completed !! Country !! Town !! Height m !! Height ft !! Collectors !! Installed maximum capacity*(MW) !! Yearly total energyproduction(GWh)

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park#Phase 4>Noor Energy 1| ACWA Power| 2022| United Arab Emirates| Saih Al-Dahal, Dubai| 262.44 m| 861 ft|||

| Ashalim Power Station| Megalim Solar Power| 2019| Israel| Negev Desert| 260 m| 853 ft| 50,600 | 121 MW| 320| Ouarzazate Solar Power Station| Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy| 2019| Morocco| Ouarzazate| 250 m| 820 ft| 7,400| 150 MW| 500

Cerro Dominador Solar Thermal PlantHTTPS://SOLARPACES.NREL.GOV/ATACAMA-1	website=solarpaces.nrel.gov	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131213011weblink |archive-date=2020-01-31}}| Acciona (51%) and Abengoa (49%) | 2021| Chile| Calama| 250 m| 820 ft| 10,600| 110 MW|

| Redstone Solar Thermal Power| ACWA Power| 2023| South Africa|Postmasburg, Northern Cape Province| ||

	DATE=22 FEBRUARY 2022, |

weblink {{Dead link>date=March 2022}}| Beijing Shouhang IHW| 2018| China| Dunhuang| 220 m | 722 ft| 12,000| 100 MW		website=solarpaces.nrel.gov	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616175858weblink |archive-date=2019-06-16}}

| Khi Solar One| Abengoa| 2016| South Africa| Upington| 205 m| 673 ft| 4,120| 50 MW| 180| Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project| SolarReserve| 2016| United States| Tonopah| 200 m| 656 ft| 10,347| 110 MW| 500

	website=solarpaces.nrel.gov	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616175906weblink |archive-date=2019-06-16}}| Luneng Qinghai Guangheng New Energy| 2019| China| Haixi Zhou| 188 m| 617 ft| 4,400| 50 MW|

		website=solarpaces.nrel.gov	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616175908weblink |archive-date=2019-06-16}}| Supcon Solar| 2019| China| Hami| 180 m| 590 ft| | 50 MW|

| PS20 solar power plant| Abengoa Solar| 2009| Spain| Sanlúcar la Mayor| 165 m| 541 ft| 1,255| 20 MW| 48| Gemasolar Thermosolar Plant| Torresol Energy| 2011| Spain| Sevilla| 140 m| 460 ft| 2,650| 19.9 MW | 80| Ivanpah Solar Power Facility (3 towers)| BrightSource Energy| 2014| United States| Mojave Desert | 139.9 m| 459 ft| 173,500| 392 MW | 650

	website=solarpaces.nrel.gov	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616175858weblink |archive-date=2019-06-16}}| | 2018| China| Dunhuang| 138 m | 453 ft		DATE = 29 MARCH 2019, | 10 MW|

| Sundrop Farms| Aalborg CSP| 2016| Australia| Port Augusta| 127 m| 417 ft

	website=solarpaces.nrel.gov	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616175910weblink |archive-date=2019-06-16}}| Institute of Electrical Engineering of Chinese Academy of Sciences| 2012| China| Dahan| 118 m | 387 ft| 100| 1 MW|

| PS10 solar power plant| Abengoa Solar| 2007| Spain| Sanlúcar la Mayor| 115 m| 377 ft| 624| 11 MW| 23.4| The Solar Project | U.S. Department of Energy| 1981| United States| Mojave Desert | 100 m| 328 ft| 1,818 later 1,926| 7 MW, later 10 MW| na, demolished| National Solar Thermal Test Facility| U.S. Department of Energy| 1978| United States| Mojave Desert | 60 m| 200 ft|| 1 MW (5-6 MWt)| na, demonstrator| Jülich Solar Tower| German Aerospace Center| 2008| Germany| Jülich| 60 m| 200 ft| 2000| 1.5 MW| na, demonstrator| Greenway CSP Mersin Solar Tower| Greenway CSP| 2013

Solar power in Turkey>Turkey| Mersin| 60 m| 200 ft| 510| 1 MW (5 MWt)|

	ACME Cleantech Solutions>ACME Group| 2011| India| Bikaner| 46 m| 150 ft| 14,280| 2.5 MW|

| Sierra SunTower (2 towers)| eSolar| 2010| United States| Mojave Desert | 46 m

	DATE=16 JUNE 2010, | 24,000| 5 MW| na, demolished

Jemalong CSP Pilot PlantHTTPS://VASTSOLAR.COM/PORTFOLIO-ITEMS/JEMALONG-SOLAR-STATION-PILOT-1-1MWE/	PUBLISHER=VAST SOLAR, 24 April 2021, | | 2017| Australia| Jemalong| 5x 27 m| 5x 89 ft| 3,500| 1.1 MW (6 MWt)|

See also

• Concentrated solar power
• Particle receiver
• Feed-in tariff
• List of concentrating solar thermal power companies
• List of solar thermal power stations
• National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF)
• Solar furnace
• Solar thermal energy

References

{{Reflist}}{{Solar energy}}