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A concentrating solar power system is presented which uses hillside mounted heliostats to direct sunlight into a volumetric absorption molten salt receiver with integral storage. The concentrated sunlight penetrates and is absorbed by molten salt in the receiver through a depth of 4-5 meters, making the system insensitive to the passage of clouds. The receiver volume also acts as the thermal storage volume eliminating the need for secondary hot and cold salt storage tanks. A small aperture and refractory-lined domed roof reduce losses to the environment and reflect thermal radiation back into the pond. Hot salt is pumped from the top of the tank through a steam generator and then returned to the bottom of the tank. An insulated barrier plate is positioned within the tank to provide a physical and thermal barrier between the thermally stratified layers, maintaining hot and cold salt volumes required for continuous operation. As a result, high temperature thermal energy can be provided 24/7 or at any desired time. The amount of storage required depends on local needs and economic conditions. About 2500 m 3 of nitrate salt is needed to operate a 4 MW e steam turbine 24/7 (7 hours sunshine, 17 hours storage), and with modest heliostat field oversizing to accumulate energy, the system could operate for an additional 24 hours (1 cloudy day). Alternatively, this same storage volume can supply a 50 MW e turbine for 3.25 hours without additional solar input. Cosine effect losses associated with hillside heliostats beaming light downwards to the receiver are offset by the elimination of a tower and separate hot and cold storage tanks and their associated pumping systems. Reduced system complexity also reduces variable costs. Using the NREL Solar Advisor program, the system is estimated to realize cost-competitive levelized production costs of electricity.

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Heliostat canting is the alignment of facets on a common frame which provides focusing of sunlight on a prescribed target. Traditionally, this alignment has been parabolic, in which the focal point of the heliostat lies on its optical axis. Two alternative off-axis canting methods are compared in this article, (i) fixed facet (static) canting in which the facet alignment is optimized for a single design day and time and then rigidly mounted to the frame and (ii) dynamic canting in which the facets are actively controlled such that the center of each facet is always perfectly focusing. For both methods, two case studies are considered: (i) a power tower with planar heliostat field (heliostat dimensions and tower height modeled after the 11 MWe plant PS10) and (ii) a hillside heliostat field which directs light down to a ground-level salt pond. In both case studies, static heliostat canting provides a small improvement in focusing by reducing the average annual insolation-weighted spot size by roughly 1–2%. Dynamic canting, in contrast, provides a 20–25% reduction in spot size.