Demonstrating solarpilot’s Python Application Programmable Interface Through Heliostat Optimal Aimpoint Strategy Use Case

Hamilton, William T.; Wagner, Michael J.; Zolan, Alexander J.

doi:10.1115/1.4053973

Demonstrating solarpilot’s Python Application Programmable Interface Through Heliostat Optimal Aimpoint Strategy Use Case

Journal Article · Fri Mar 18 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Journal of Solar Energy Engineering

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4053973· OSTI ID:1860236

^[1]; Wagner, Michael J. ^[2]; ^[1]

National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

solarpilot is a software package that generates solar field layouts and characterizes the optical performance of concentrating solar power (CSP) tower systems. solarpilot was developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as a stand-alone desktop application but has also been incorporated into NREL’s System Advisor Model (SAM) in a simplified format. Prior means for user interaction with solarpilot have included the application’s graphical interface, the SAM routines with limited configurability, and through a built-in scripting language called “LK.” This article presents a new, full-featured, python-based application programmable interface (API) for solarpilot, which we hereafter refer to as CoPylot. CoPylot enables python users to perform detailed CSP tower analysis utilizing either the Hermite expansion technique (analytical) or the SolTrace ray-tracing engine. CoPylot’s enables CSP researchers to perform analysis that was previously not possible through solarpilot’s existing interfaces. This article discusses the capabilities of CoPylot and presents a use case wherein we populate a model that obtains optimal solar field aiming strategies.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1860236

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5700-81634; MainId:82407; UUID:6ab95966-4744-4d73-9554-660096295f6b; MainAdminID:64097

Journal Information:: Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, Journal Name: Journal of Solar Energy Engineering Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 144; ISSN 0199-6231

Publisher:: ASMECopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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14 SOLAR ENERGY
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