How does LPT work?
LPT™ stands for Luz Power Tower and is a BrightSource design based on the solar power tower concept proven by the DOE Solar I and Solar II projects in the 1980s. The innovations that BrightSource has brought to the power tower design make it far less expensive to build and more efficient in its production of electricity. A LPT solar field, known as a Solar Power Cluster (SPC), consists of an array of thousands of relatively small flat glass mirrors placed in the desert and an associated power tower and receiver (solar boiler) which converts the light received into useful heat. These mirrors reflect sunlight onto the collection surface of the solar boiler approximately 300 feet in the air on top of a tower. The concentrated sunlight focused on the collection surface is used to directly heat steam, which then drives a turbine/generator to produce electricity.
