SOLAR THERMAL POWER PLANT

摘要

A solar thermal power plant 20 comprises a solar radiation receiver 28 mounted on a tower 22 surrounded by a heliostat field 24 to receive solar radiation reflected by heliostats 26 forming the heliostat field 24. The power plant 20 comprises a power generation circuit 30 including a steam turbine for driving an electrical generator to produce electrical power, and water in the power generation circuit 30 is capable of being heated directly by solar radiation reflected onto the solar radiation receiver 28 by the heliostat field 24 to generate steam to drive the steam turbine. The power plant 20 also comprises an energy storage circuit 36 including a thermal energy storage fluid, such as molten salt, which is capable of being heated directly by solar radiation reflected by the heliostat field 24. A heat exchanger 44 is also provided for recovering thermal energy from the thermal energy storage fluid in the energy storage circuit 36; the recovered thermal energy may then be used to generate steam to drive the steam turbine.