Abstract: Combined cycle solar power generation is achieved using a primary cycle based on a solar receiver, such as a volumetric absorber, in which compressed air is heated by concentrated solar radiation, coupled with a secondary cycle based on a water/steam circuit driven by exhaust gas from the primary cycle. When the primary cycle is inactive, typically at night time, the secondary cycle can be driven by accessing a heat store of liquid or solid heat storage material, such as a molten salt or concrete blocks, which has been heated earlier during day time operation. The water/steam circuit is reconfigurable between first and second switching conditions, wherein in the first switching condition heat is transferred directly or indirectly from the primary cycle to heat the heat storage material, and in the second switching condition stored heat is transferred from the heat storage material to the water/steam circuit in order to generate steam.

Abstract: It enhances heat collecting efficiency of sunlight received by heliostats. It is a solar light collecting method in a multi-tower beam-down light collecting system, including a tower selection. The multi-tower beam-down light collecting system is a system in which, in a field where a plurality of beam-down light collecting towers are present, light primarily reflected by heliostats 1 around each tower 4 is secondarily reflected by a reflector 3 at a top part of the tower 4 and is collected on a receiver 3 on the ground, and the tower selection is a process in which, assuming that the heliostat 1 in a given position receives sunlight and reflects the sunlight toward each of optionally selected two of the towers 4, 4, a light receiving quantity on the receiver 3 of each of the towers 4 is compared, and one of the towers 4 in which the light receiving quantity is relatively large is selected to reflect the sunlight toward the one of the towers 4.