This paper examines the potential of sodium receivers to increase the overall solar-to-electricity efficiency of central receiver solar power plants, also known as solar tower systems. It re-visits some of the key outcomes and conclusions from past sodium receiver experiments, in particular those at Sandia National Laboratories and Plataforma Solar de Almeria in the 1980s, and discusses some current development activities in the area. It also discusses research in sodium receivers with a liquid-vapour phase change (heat pipes and pool boilers), to explore whether technologies developed for dish-Stirling systems have applicability for solar tower systems. Lessons learnt from experience in the nuclear industry with liquid sodium systems are discussed in the context of safety risks.

The Tonatiuh project is underway at the University of Texas at Brownsville under the DOE-NREL Minority University Research Associate (MURA) Program Subcontract. It intends to improve the cost-effectiveness of solar energy technologies by advancing the state-of-the-art of the simulation tools available for the design and analysis of solar concentrating systems. The project includes the design, development, implementation, verification and validation of Tonatiuh: an open-source advanced object-oriented program, that using distributed computing, Monte-Carlo Ray tracing, and the best 3-D user interface technologies available today, will provide a sophisticated and efficient software environment for the design and analysis of solar concentrating systems. This paper presents an overview of the Tonatiuh Software Development Project, emphasizing the software design aspects of the project, and the scientific relevance of the program.

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