SMART CSP - How artificial intelligence can support concentrating solar technologies

Abstract

Concentrating solar technologies are relatively complex systems that combine a large number of tracked concentration collectors, high temperature receivers and heat exchangers, a thermal storage system, and a power cycle. To optimize operation and lifetime of such systems, artificial intelligence (AI) approaches provide numerous benefits over physical model-based simulations. The talk will introduce state of the art technologies and their current market status before highlighting a number of AI approaches that have been developed at DLR. They comprise the tracking calibration of heliostats, soiling prediction of mirrors, degradation detection of solar collectors, cloud recognition, life time monitoring of receivers, and others.