5G for CSP - Results from the 5G communication network at the Solar Tower Jülich

Abstract

The heliostat field of a solar tower power plant is a system of widely distributed actuators that have to be controlled individually with high precision. In the past, there have been repeated attempts to switch communication in the heliostat field from cable to radio. The main motivation for this attempt is economic considerations. Cabling of several thousand up to tens of thousands of heliostats spread over an area of many square kilometers represents a considerable cost factor. This argument calls for replacing also the cable-based power supply by individual PV-battery systems. This leads to the second motivation for a cable-free heliostat field: the positioning of autonomous, self-sufficient heliostats in the terrain reduces the need for massive civil works. Finally, a radio-based communication system allows to integrate many other mobile or stationary sensors and actuators. A licensed private 5G campus network with locally exclusive spectrum (3.7 to 3.8 GHz) has been erected at the Solar Tower Jülich test facility near Cologne, Germany. Here, the feasibility, performance and cost-effectiveness of 5G radio as a communication platform for heliostat fields is investigated.