Materials Comparison for Reducing Heliostats Production Costs

The alarming issue of climate change and the necessity to increase the renewable energy stake has become the driving force for cost reduction measures taken in various renewable technologies. Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) is an increasingly attractive solar energy technology that uses heliostats to provide controllable, rapid heating and thermal energy storage (TES) benefits, which can use high temperature fluids (HTF) for higher efficiencies. The cost of installation for a commercial heliostat assuming a production volume of 22,239 heliostats, which represents a solar field aperture area of 1,078,592 m2, is $127/m2, or 136.98 million for the solar field [1]. Around 31% of the cost comes from manufactured parts which include the heavy use of steel, which can be subject to high price volatility, to ensure structural stability under wind load conditions. By studying the structural vibration response for different types of composite materials, a case can be made to switch from the heavy use of galvanized steel to a hybrid or even complete use of composite materials for heliostat construction. This paper presents a structural vibration response comparison between Steel AISI 1020, Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (S-Glass and E-Glass), Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer, and Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (230, 290, and 395 GPa.) for heliostats structure manufacturing.