Master Control System for the central receiver solar power plant

Abstract

A Master Control System (MCS) is described in terms of its operation and evaluation role for the nation's first major solar thermal electric power venture. The specific application referred to is the 10 MWe solar thermal central receiver Pilot Plant being built at Barstow, California. Five subsystems have been defined for the Pilot Plant version of this concept. They are designated as the Collector Subsystem (CS; i.e., heliostats), the Receiver Subsystem (RS; i.e., absorber and tower), the Thermal Storage Subsystem (TSS; i.e., tank and fluid), the Electrical Power Generation Subsystem (EPGS; i.e., turbine, generator, and associated balance of plant), and the MCS. First, a brief history is provided of the Pilot Plant development which led to the adoption of the MCS configuration. Then, an overview of this configuration is presented, followed by a general discussion of subsystem control considerations. Next, functions of three primary MCS elements are described, followed by general definitions of associated software and steady-state operation modes. Finally, a summary and conclusions are presented pertaining to the overall MCS configuration and present/planned developments.