Solar power system using thermal storage and cascaded thermal electric converters
First Claim
1. A solar power system comprising:
- a concentrator system that receives and concentrates solar flux and delivers concentrated solar flux towards a selected location;
a receiver located at the selected location which receives the concentrated solar flux that generates thermal energy in response to receiving a selected degree of concentrated solar flux;
thermal storage medium coupled to the thermal receiver that stores thermal energy in response to the receiver receiving the concentrated solar flux;
at least one thermal electrical converter stage that receives the thermal energy from the receiver and generates electrical energy from the thermal energy wherein the at least one thermal electrical converter stage also receives thermal energy from the thermal storage medium when the receiver is receiving less than the selected degree of concentrated solar flux so as to be able to produce electrical energy during time periods when the receiver is receiving less than the selected degree of concentrated solar flux; and
a heat flow regulator that regulates transfer of the thermal energy between the at least one thermal electrical converter stage.
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Abstract
A solar powered electricity generating system comprised of a concentrator assembly that concentrates solar flux into a thermal storage unit. The thermal storage unit converts solar energy into heat energy which is then provided to three cascaded converter stages which, in the preferred embodiment, are comprised of a thermionic electric converter (TEC), an alkaline metal thermal to electric converter (AMTEC) and a thermoelectric generator stage comprised of a plurality of thermal photovoltaic cells. A phase change material is positioned within the thermal receiver such that the solar flux converts the material from a solid phase into a liquid phase such that the thermal storage unit can continue to generate heat energy when the sun is no longer providing thermal flux to the receiver as a result of the heat energy produced as the phase change material changes back from a liquid phase to a solid phase.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. A solar power system comprising:
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a concentrator system that receives and concentrates solar flux and delivers concentrated solar flux towards a selected location;
a receiver located at the selected location which receives the concentrated solar flux that generates thermal energy in response to receiving a selected degree of concentrated solar flux;
thermal storage medium coupled to the thermal receiver that stores thermal energy in response to the receiver receiving the concentrated solar flux;
at least one thermal electrical converter stage that receives the thermal energy from the receiver and generates electrical energy from the thermal energy wherein the at least one thermal electrical converter stage also receives thermal energy from the thermal storage medium when the receiver is receiving less than the selected degree of concentrated solar flux so as to be able to produce electrical energy during time periods when the receiver is receiving less than the selected degree of concentrated solar flux; and
a heat flow regulator that regulates transfer of the thermal energy between the at least one thermal electrical converter stage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
a first stage that produces electrical energy when receiving thermal energy in a first temperature range; and
a second stage that receives waste thermal energy in a second temperature range from the first stage less than the first temperature range and produces electrical energy responsive thereto.
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12. The system of claim 11, further comprising a third stage that receives waste thermal energy in a third temperature range less than the second temperature range and produces electrical energy responsive thereto.
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13. The system of claim 12, wherein the first stage comprises at least one thermionic electrical converter (TEC) device.
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14. The system of claim 12, wherein the second stage comprises at least one device selected from the group consisting of alkaline metal thermal electric converter (AMTEC) devices and TEC devices that operate between reduced temperatures.
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15. The system of claim 12, and the third stage comprises a thermal electrical generator unit having a plurality of thermal photovoltaic cells.
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16. The system of claim 1, wherein the receiver comprises a shutter that (a) passes the concentrated solar flux when the concentrated solar flux is provided and (b) inhibits thermal energy from escaping the thermal storage medium when the concentrated solar flux is not provided.
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17. A solar power system for converting solar power into electrical power, the system comprising:
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a solar flux concentrator assembly for concentrating a first flux of solar power into a concentrated second flux of solar power;
a thermal energy storage unit disposed so as to receive the second flux of solar power from the solar flux concentrator, said thermal energy storage unit converting the second flux of solar power into thermal energy;
a converter assembly having a heat flow regulator and disposed so as to receive thermal energy from the thermal energy storage unit, said converter assembly comprising cascaded first, second, and third stages that (a) respectively receive a first, second, and third input flow of heat, (b) respectively convert a portion of the first, second, and third input flows of heat into a first, second, and third output flow of electrical power, and (c) respectively output a first, second, and third output flow of heat, wherein the first stage is disposed adjacent the thermal energy storage unit so as to receive the first input flow of heat therefrom, wherein the second stage is disposed adjacent the first stage so as to receive the second input flow of heat therefrom, and wherein the third stage is disposed adjacent the second stage so as to receive the third input flow of heat therefrom and wherein the heat flow regulator regulates the flow of heat between the first and second stages. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A method of producing electrical power, the method comprising:
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receiving a first flux of solar power;
concentrating the first flux of solar power into a second flux of solar power;
converting the second flux of solar power into thermal energy, said converting resulting in a first output flow of thermal power;
producing a first flow of electrical power from the first output flow of thermal power, said producing of the first flow of electrical power resulting in a second output flow of thermal power;
regulating the second output flow of thermal power to produce a second flow of electrical power from the second output flow of thermal power, said producing of the second flow of electrical power resulting in a third output flow of thermal power; and
producing a third flow of electrical power from the second output flow of thermal power. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44)
concentrating the first flux of solar power into an intermediate flux of solar power; and
concentrating the intermediate flux into a second flux of solar power.
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42. The method of claim 40, wherein converting the second flux of solar power into thermal energy comprises inducing a thermal storage material to undergo a first phase change between a solid phase to a liquid phase.
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43. The method of claim 42, further comprising:
- when the first solar flux is not received, maintaining the first output flow of thermal power by extracting heat from the thermal storage material while the thermal storage material undergoes a second phase change between the liquid phase to the solid phase.
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44. The method of claim 40, further comprising combining the first, second, and third output flows of electrical power into a combined output flow of electrical power.
Specification