Multi Tower Solar Array (MTSA) with ganged heliostats

Abstract
We propose a new concept of Solar Towers, the Multi Tower Solar Array (MTSA) with Ganged Heliostats. The heliostats concentrate the solar radiation onto several tower-mounted receivers instead of a single central receiver. The MTSA is a regularly spaced two-dimensional array of towers and reflectors. It uses radiation which usually would be unused by a single Central Receiver because of shading and blocking between the reflectors. Close to the towers, where the shading effect predominates, the heliostats are directed to the nearest tower. More distant heliostats are alternately directed to two, three or even more different towers. The MTSA approach reduces the problems occurred by mutual reflector shading and blocking. Therefore, it is possible to greatly reduce the ground area required by the heliostat field and also to use a closely spaced, regular geometrical array of reflectors which can be tracked by a ganged, mechanically connected system. While the MTSA is advantageous for large scale solar thermal power plants, it may be also possible to develop small MTSAs which fit over parking lots or on the roofs of big buildings such as shopping complexes and industrial halls.