Power towers are capable of producing solar-generated electricity and hydrogen on a large scale. Heliostats are the most important cost element of a solar power tower plant. Since they constitute {approx} 50% of the capital cost of the plant it is important to reduce heliostat cost as much as possible to improve the economic performance of power towers. In this study we evaluate current heliostat technology and estimate a price of 126/msup2givenyear−2006materialsandlaborcostsforadeploymentofapprox600MWofpowertowersperyear.This2006priceyieldselectricityat0.067/kWh and hydrogen at 3.20/kg.Weproposeresearchanddevelopmentthatshouldultimatelyleadtoapriceaslowas90/m{sup 2}, which equates to 0.056/kWhand2.75/kg H{sup 2}. Approximately 30 heliostat and manufacturing experts from the United States, Europe, and Australia contributed to the content of this report during two separate workshops conducted at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility