Harness the Sun: Solar Thermal Power Plant

Solar thermal power systems are a great source of renewable energy. Thanks to slowly moving mirrors, the top of the receiver tower has sunlight focused on it all day.

For this mission, the team’s robot has to push the “sunlit-yellow” mirrors into position to direct sunlight at the receiver tower. When completed, an internal scissor lift will raise a yellow column to the top of the tower, representing the receiver being filled with sunlight. The model will lock in place automatically for teams which complete the mission; the locking takes place using a magenta 3x3 Technic biscuit positioned as a one-way door locking mechanism. The mission model and functional mechanism are sturdy and will work consistently. The scoring is easy to see and judge, because the model locks in the scored position, with the yellow column visible through the windows at the top of the tower. Referees can easily reset the model by pushing down on the convenient black ball on the magenta 3x3 locking mechanism.