water use

For a CSP system, SAM will calculate Annual Water Use. In Help under Annual Water Use, it states "For CSP systems, the total annual water consumption in cubic meters for cooling and mirror washing. The value is determined based on the cooling system options specified on the Power Block page, and the mirror washing options specified on the Solar Field page." Before using the water use number reported by SAM, we would like more details on how it calculates water use for a power block with an evaporative cooling tower.

I think I found the answer to my question. The Technical Manual for the Physical Trough Model explains in the Power Cycle section how the cooling system works. So if you just that the power cycle description in the Physical Trough Model manual is valid for the both the molten salt and direct steam power tower systems then I will be good to go. Thanks.

I'm glad you found the description in the reference manual, I was just about to point you in that direction.

And, yes, the two power tower models use the same power cycle model as the physical trough model.

Best regards,
Paul.