Review of the Molten Salt Electric Experiment: A solar central receiver project

The Molten Salt Electric Experiment was the first full solar-to-electric central receiver system to use molten nitrate salt as a primary working fluid. The experiment was built and tested at the Central Receiver Test Facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, between 1982 and 1985. The purpose of the project was to demonstrate the technical feasibility of a molten salt central receiver system. The Molten Salt Electric Experiment was operated through a year of successful testing; system performance was measured, operating procedures and an effective receiver control algorithm were developed, and personnel from participating electrical utilities and solar industries were trained to operate the system. The testing culminated in a one-month power production campaign to measure daily performance, component reliability, and system availability. This paper discusses the major accomplishments and some of the more significant problems of the project.