On the optimization of irradiance distribution in solar tower plants with flat receivers

One of the most important problems in the operation of solar power towers is to achieve a uniform flux density distribution at the receiver, in order to avoid hot spots. An algorithm that computes the aim points for the heliostat field to obtain a uniform flux density distribution and optimize the solar irradiation collected by the receiver is presented in this paper. The algorithm is tested using a model of the heliostat field of the CESA-1 solar tower plant at the Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA) in southern Spain.