Patent ID: 8863516

Claim:
A solar energy system, comprising: a tower having a solar radiation receiver, the solar radiation receiver including a plurality of tubes carrying a heat-transfer medium and a drum, the drum in thermal communication with the tubes; wherein the drum has a feed stream portion and a steam portion, the feed stream portion in liquid communication with the tubes and arranged to provide the heat-transfer medium thereto, and the steam portion arranged to receive steam from the tubes after the heat-transfer medium has been transformed into steam; a first tube concentric within a second tube, wherein a feed stream is introduced into said feed stream portion of the drum through an annulus between said first and second tubes, and steam is evacuated from the steam portion of said drum through an inner bore of said first tube; and one or more mirrors configured to reflect solar radiation onto the receiver; wherein the receiver receives the reflected solar radiation from the mirrors, thereby heating the heat transfer medium and vaporizing the heat transfer medium.