Heliostat Field Layout Optimization with Evolutionary Algorithms
The exploitation of solar power for energy supply is of increasing importance. While technical development mainly takes place in the engineering disciplines, computer science offers adequate techniques for optimization. This work addresses the problem of finding an optimal heliostat field arrangement for a solar tower power plant.We propose a solution to this global, non-convex optimization problem by using an evolutionary algorithm. We show that the convergence rate of a conventional evolutionary algorithm is too slow, such that modifications of the recombination and mutation need to be tailored to the problem. This is achieved with a new genotype representation of the individuals.Experimental results show the applicability of our approach.