BrightSource Energy, Inc. products

Making sure the receiver absorbs all the solar flux from the solar field is a critical part of the plant’s performance. Specially designed coatings are applied to the different surfaces of the receiver. The control system models the absorption behaviour and compares it to various sensor data.

SFINCS flux management calculates the optimal solar flux to apply to the receiver according to current operational conditions. The Aiming Wizard translates flux requirements into individual heliostat aiming points. Inputs to the flux algorithms include DCS setpoints and sensor data, current heliostat data, weather and receiver characteristics. The flux calculations are continuously updated based on the measured flux from both Computer Vision and DCS data. 

Advanced weather forecasting is so important to solar field performance – short and long term. From where the clouds are now we can determine how much energy the heliostats will aim at the receiver and then adjust the aiming to achieve even and stable temperatures. Predicting weather aids in setting tomorrow’s operation strategies.