eSolar

Technology

Heliostat design

eSolar has designed heliostats that are smaller than the industry norm, allowing for pre-fabrication, mass-manufacturing, and easy installation, thereby reducing production and installation costs. eSolar announced a new heliostat design, referred to as SCS5, during the 2013 SolarPACES Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. SCS5 offers a more simplified design and enhanced reliability to reduce total installed solar collector system cost by more than a third.

Sun-tracking software

eSolar has developed a sun-tracking control system that is able to calibrate heliostats and monitor the performance of each heliostat within the field. Tests have shown an unprecedented pointing accuracy and high thermal concentration ratios.

Power tower and electricity generation

An array of heliostats reflect solar radiation to a tower-mounted thermal receiver. In the direct-steam configuration, the concentrated solar energy boils water in the receiver to produce steam. The steam is piped to a steam turbine generator, which converts the energy to electricity. The steam out of the turbine is condensed and pressurized back into the receiver. In the molten salt configuration, the concentrated solar energy heats molten salt to store thermal energy for future use.

Module

eSolar's field layout design is built around the concept of scalable modules. In the direct-steam configuration, each module comprises over 20,000 square meters of heliostats arranged in two subfields – north and south – which track the sun and concentrate solar energy to the tower mounted receiver. The field layout is a simple, regular design that eliminates precision surveying and ground penetration. In the molten salt configuration a hexagonal solar field consists of over 100,000 square meters of reflector area.