Background: Concentrated solar thermal energy uses thermal energy storage. And China currently has 30 CSP projects under construction with thermal energy storage. Various options of energy storage are described in patented solutions in the field of solar energy. They include such technologies as those using latent heat, molten materials, compressed air, and chemical reactions. In […]

  1414 Degrees has reached a major milestone in the development of its SiBox Demonstration Module. Construction is almost complete, meaning that the company is now confident enough to move forward with the installation of its thermal energy storage media (silicon) and is expecting to be able to commission the demonstration module sometime shortly this […]

Heliostat cost reduction is necessary to lower the cost of tower CSP. As many as 10,000 heliostats comprise the solar field. Read More …

The US DOE announces new 2023 solar technologies funding for early stage CSP/CST innovations Read More …

Solar PV and CSP are the best suited renewables to drive MENA region synthetic fuel production potential at low cost Read More …

The solar furnace in Parkent, Uzbekistan will be used to recycle 50 tons of steel by the Swiss firm, Panatère in 2023 Read More …

Source: El Pais (Google translated from French) Between the deposits of the road that leads to Rjim Maatoug, along the Algerian border and 120 kilometers from Kébili, in the south of Tunisia, only hydrocarbon tankers pass through in an incessant ballet. This area, where identical-looking towns are threaded together, bordered by a palm grove that […]

  The energy stored in 700 MW of Shanghai Electric’s trough tower CSP, once all units are operational, can generate power continuously for a maximum of 13.5 hours at night and 15 hours during periods of inclement weather. Source: Shanghai Electric for CSPFocus On November 29 (Dubai Time), the Trough Unit No. 1 facility of […]

20 MW Thermal Energy Storage Trials Hydroxide Molten Salt at the offshore energy island Bornholm Source: Recharge: Denmark’s ‘energy island’ of Bornholm is to host what is being claimed as “game changing” molten salts-based storage technology that its developer aims to deploy as a future large-scale source of renewable heat and power. Hyme Energy will […]

Source: Economia Digital The low price of the ministry and the uncertainty of connection delay the installation of a new solar thermal, which in 2025 should be double the current one according to the PNIEC. The generation of energy with solar thermal technology has been stuck for a decade in Spain. Not a single new […]

Email from CSP Focus China 2022, Nov 2&3 in Beijing The development of CSP is entering into a fast track in 2022 here in China.  Within the Multi-Energy RE complexes combining with PV and/or Wind, CSP is playing a role as stabilizer and regulator, easing the power fluctuation and curtailment of PV and Wind, through […]

Press Release: Abengoa wins solar project of the year award for Noor 1 At Noor 1 Abengoa has been responsible for providing the technology, design, engineering of the HTF system, as well as the construction of the collectors for three parabolic trough plants (200 MW each) in the world’s largest solar complex: the Mohammed bin […]

DOE Announces $24 Million Awards; $10.7 Million for Gen-3 CSP and $13.2 to Advance Concentrated Solar-Thermal Technologies for Industrial Decarbonization DOE also Releases Strategic Roadmap to Enhance Ability to Harness Solar Power, Lower Costs for Mirrors used in Concentrating Solar Power Plants WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released a new roadmap […]

Dr Avi Schultz Conference Chair Concentrating Solar Thermal Power Program Manager Solar Energy Technologies Office U.S. Department of Energy I’m excited to see you all in person in Albuquerque in less than two weeks, and launch the packed agenda we have for the SolarPACES conference. Kicking things off on Tuesday, September 27th, we’ll be welcomed […]

Source: CSPFocus September: Equipment Procurement Tenders- CGN New Energy Jilin 100MW CSP Project On September 2, Da’an Guangtou Zhongneng CSP Company issued a bidding announcement for the turbine generator set, steam generation system, solar concentration and heat collection system, cold salt pump, hot salt pump and thermoregulation pump of CGN New Energy Jilin 100MW CSP […]

Press Release: Paving the way for solar fuels: Jülich, Germany, August 18, 2022 Synhelion has become the first company in the world to succeed in producing syngas on an industrial scale using only solar heat as an energy source. The Swiss solar fuel pioneer successfully demonstrated this on the multi-focus solar tower of the German […]

[ED: All four projects follow China’s renewables scale-up plan of 1 GW renewables projects, where 100 MW of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) is co-located with 900 MW of Photovoltaic (PV) in order to provide thermal energy storage, to extend the hours of solar generation past nightfall and to stabilize the grid in tandem as wind […]

(Montel) Spain plans to auction 520 MW of renewable energy capacity on 25 October amid its ongoing effort to curb carbon emissions. The auction will award 140 MW for photovoltaic projects below 5 MW, 220 MW for solar thermal, 140 MW for biomass and 20 MW for other technologies including biogas, bioliquids, hydropower or tidal […]

Particle-based Solar Energy Capture and Storage for Concentrated Solar Power Particle-based solar thermal energy storage (TES) coupled to concentrated solar power (CSP) is an attractive pathway towards operating at elevated temperatures while extending electricity production beyond diurnal periods of on-sun operation. Operation at elevated temperatures necessitates higher solar concentration ratios at MWth-scales that are only […]

July 18, 2022 Xinjiang: The Xinhua Power Generation Company held a groundbreaking ceremony, together with Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, celebrating the start of the firm’s 1 GW new solar energy project at Bozhou, located on the north side of G219 National Road west of Bole City at Aheqi Farm, Jinghe County in Xinjiang Province, China. […]

Press Release OAKLAND, Calif. – July 13, 2022 – TITAN Cement Group joins decarbonization and electrification investment leaders, Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Energy Impact Partners, in supporting Rondo Energy (“Rondo”) through its recent Series A financing round for the scale-up of its innovative “heat battery” technology, aiming to provide new solutions for decarbonizing power generation and […]

As of July 5, 2022, Cosin Solar’s pilot project the SUPCON Delingha 50MW Molten Salt Tower CSP Plant generated 755 MWh of electricity in a single day. With this latest single-day generating record, the plant has now achieved an annual record as well. In just 11 months, the plant has already generated its entire projected […]

https://youtu.be/wdC5cXR-7M8 What is the current status of China’s CSP projects? Here Fengli Du of China Solar Thermal Alliance reveals the data on China’s CSP projects to date and underway in this webinar, hosted by SolarPACES Secretariat Christoph Richter, and now available online here. China has emerged as a key driver of the future of Concentrated […]

Zoom Webinar: Presentation of Blue Book of China’s CSP Industry 2021 Date and Time: June 27, 2022, 14:00-14:45 CEST (Central European Summer Time) Agenda: Opening: Christoph Richter, Executive Secretary SolarPACES Introductory Comments: Zhifeng Wang, Chairman of China Solar Thermal Alliance Presentation of Blue Book 2021: Fengli Du, Secretary of China Solar Thermal Alliance Q&A: Participants […]

Jinta County, Gansu Province: The Jinta Zhongguang Solar Energy 100 MW Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project has broken ground, meeting the initial construction milestone by beginning concrete work for the receiver tower foundation. This 100MW CSP project was originally part of the first round of China’s pilot projects back in 2016. But the developer failed […]

The Blue Book on China’s CSP Industry 2021 lays out current detail on the performance of the current Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) projects in China, and the scale-up plan as China increases its overall renewable energy percentage on the grid. The Blue Book includes very detailed information on the performance of all of the currently […]

Source: email from Sunny Sun; CSPFocus China Three Gorges New Energy has issued the bidding announcement on the EPC of two 100MW CSP projects, both are located in Qinghai province, northwest of China. According to the announcement (in Chinese), both projects are planned to start on July 1st 2022, and completed in full capacity by […]

[Ed: Their GlassPoint technology won the SolarPACES Technology Innovation Awardin 2016] From CSPFocus Saudi Arabia has signed an MOU with the California-based firm GlassPoint to build the world’s biggest solar thermal steam producing plant there. The facility will generate steam directly to make aluminum.  Aluminum is used in such products as cars, computers, and cell […]

Need for energy storage increases as China overshoots renewable deployment Read More …

(From Utility Dive) Dive Brief: To help commercialize emerging energy storage that can power the grid for at least 10 hours, the Department of Energy has launched a $505 million four-year initiative. It aims to lower barriers to grid energy storage, and support small-scale, behind-the-meter pilots as well as large utility-scale demonstrations. DOE’s initiative, announced […]

Gearing up your company to capitalize on the utility-scale energy storage boom in the US A decarbonizing grid relying on variable renewable – solar PV and wind – for the lion’s share of the energy it integrates, will over time require energy services and increasingly rely on energy storage to maintain inertia and firmness. Whichever […]

Source: Green Car Congress 06 May 2022 Perovskite materials may hold the potential to play an important role in a process to produce hydrogen in a renewable manner, according to an analysis from scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Hydrogen has emerged as an important carrier to store energy generated by renewable resources, as a […]

New energy installed capacity, accounting for 70.2% of total installed capacity, will comprise 34 GW, with wind power comprising 27 GW, photovoltaic 6.5 GW, and CSP 250 MW. Source: China National Solar Thermal Alliance According to the news from the Hami Financial Media Center on March 12, with the implementation of the “Xinjiang Electric Power […]

IEA  provides 10-Point Plan to European Union for reducing reliance on Russian supplies by over a third while supporting European Green Deal, with emergency options to go further Download image Do not sign any new gas supply contracts with Russia. [Impact: Enables greater diversification of supply this year and beyond] Replace Russian supplies with gas […]

Acwa Power’s Redstone project  construction is well underway  and is currently in its ninth month of construction, with commercial operation scheduled to start in Q4 2023. The engineering works for the project is over 58% completed, whereas procurement and construction works stand at over 45% and 6% respectively. A key construction milestone, tower foundation for […]

Previous post: Botswana Looking for Bids for 200 MW of CSP Interested independent power producers (IPPs) have until April 11th, 2022 to apply for the pre-qualification process for the construction of two thermodynamic solar power plants in Botswana. Botswana’s Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security has issued a call for expressions of interest from […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced the Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (CSP) Fiscal Year 2022 Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD&D) funding program, which will award up to $25 million for innovative research and development projects in CSP technologies. These projects will accelerate the large-scale development and deployment of solar technologies. CSP technologies offer value as renewable energy resources that can […]

High wind loads increase structural design costs of concentrating solar power (CSP) collector structures, such as heliostats and parabolic troughs. In a new two-year project, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will work with the Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) to conduct two comprehensive at-scale field measurements […]

Press Release: A consortium that comprises Vast Solar, CyD, Solar Dynamics, Alia Energy Consulting and Critical Engineering, has jointly developed Flexitank, a novel design for high temperature molten salt thermal energy storage tanks used in CSP and standalone thermal energy storage. The Flexitank solves a serious issue in the CSP industry. Due to the impacts […]

The Sun-to-Liquids project has been developed by a consortium integrated by the leading European solar research laboratories and CSP industry leaders: ETH Zurich, DLR, Bauhaus Luftfahrt, IMDEA Energy, HyGear Technology & Services B.V and Abengoa. The aim is to produce renewable transportation fuels from water and CO2 with solar energy: The first synthesis of solar […]

At the 2021 SolarPACES Conference, NamPower generation projects head Grant Muller laid out the national power company’s now finalized plans for a CSP project in Namibia, for between 50 MW and 130 MW, with storage. After 4 years of preparations, it is ready for its first CSP auction in 2022. The small African nation has […]

IEA report calls for the development of national hydrogen strategies and roadmaps, new incentives for low-carbon hydrogen, and new certification requirements alongside increased research and infrastructure spending. Source: Utility Dive  Dive Brief: Global electrolyzer capacity for producing hydrogen could reach up to 89 GW by 2030 thanks in part to $37 billion in government spending […]

Spain to launch a third renewable auction – to include Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) – before the end of 2021 October 4, 2021: The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge plans to launch a third renewable auction before the end of the year. According to the Secretary of State for Energy, Sara Aagesen, […]

DLR and CSP Services Win the SolarPACES 2021 Award for their Solar Flux Density Measurement System. New measuring system determines the flux density of receivers in solar tower power plants This year’s SolarPACES Technology Award goes to a team of researchers from the DLR Institute of Solar Research and CSP Services. The measurement method they […]

To expand internationally with its high temperature solar fuels, Synhelion now acquires high temperature solar field experts Heliokon Read More …

Seramic Materials 100% recycled ceramic stores heat at temperatures up to 1250°C for thermal energy storage or high temperature CST processes Read More …

Source: CSP Focus A 3,300 MW solar project in Quinghai Province in China will combine both types of solar; PV and CSP with thermal energy storage, with total investment of 19.575 billion CNY (3 billion USD). The planned total installed capacity is 3.3GW, including 3GW PV, 300MW CSP (600 MW electric heating molten salt thermal […]

The online registration is now available on the conference website. As you know, SolarPACES 2021 will be our second online conference, held from September 27 – October 01, 2021. SolarPACES 2020 revealed the many benefits of being online, with more of us able to share our work and participate from our home office, and we expect to make […]

[This “only pre-commercial” and “over 6 hours” storage RFP would favor thermal energy storage concepts currently near commercial readiness.] The New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) is calling for project submissions to advance, develop or field-test energy storage technologies that can address challenges associated with the cost, performance or technical integration of […]

The scientific journal ‘Energies’ is arranging a Special Issue on ‘Solar Thermochemical Production of Material Commodities’ with a deadline for submissions on 1 September, 2021. We, as guest editors, are pleased to invite you to submit high-quality unpublished contributions on recent advances in applications of concentrated solar radiation to high-temperature industrial processes with a strong […]

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Pitz-Paal receives Energy Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Robert Pitz-Paal, director at the Institute of Solar Research of the German Aerospace Center, has been named the 2021 recipient of the Frank Kreith Energy Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The award was established in 2005 […]

HELIOGEN RAISES $108 MILLION TO ADVANCE NEW NON-INTERMITTENT RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY FOR HEAT, POWER, AND GREEN HYDROGEN Two funding rounds accelerate global deployment of Heliogen’s breakthrough AI-assisted concentrated solar thermal technology Press Release: PASADENA, California, June 15, 2021 – Heliogen, the renewable energy technology company unlocking the power of sunlight to replace fossil fuels, today announced that it has raised $108 million in […]

How does a solar thermal power plant work? How can solar thermal power plants contribute to security of supply? What role do solar thermal power plants play in an energy system based on renewable energy sources? What skills are required to build and operate solar thermal power plants? Which factors support an accelerated proliferation of […]

SHANGHAI, June 11, 2021 /PRNewswire Shanghai Electric announced positive results of the first molten salt tank hydro test for the Parabolic Trough Plant-II which forms part of the 1GW Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai. The test was carried out on May 9, and its success laid a crucial foundation for the next phase […]

  By 2050 Chile plans to be carbon neutral. A crucial part of that goal is the decarbonisation of its energy mix. To do this, all coal-fired power plants will stop operating by 2040. To deliver maximum benefit, two additional challenges must be met: replacing Chile’s energy currently produced by coal; and finding a use for the […]

The DLR Institute of Solar Research will focus in the 24th Cologne Solar Colloquium on solar process heat from low temperature to high temperature applications. Speakers from research and industry partners will present current usage, future perspectives and will report on their experiences with existing systems. In the context of high temperature solar process heat […]

PRESS RELEASE ACWA Power has led South Africa’s largest renewable energy project Redstone CSP to financial close The ZAR 11.6 billion Redstone concentrated solar power (CSP) plant will power 200,000 households upon completion Commercial operation scheduled to start in Q4 2023 Johannesburg, South Africa, 10 May 2021: ACWA Power, a leading Saudi developer, investor and […]

Source: Sandia National Laboratories ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  A team of researchers from Sandia National Laboratories recently used tethered balloons to collect samples of airborne dust particles to ensure the safety of a falling-particle receiver for concentrating solar power, an emerging solar power technology. (Photo by Randy Montoya) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image. Researchers from […]

Source: El Periódico de la Energía Ramon Roca 04/12/21 “We are proud of this new milestone in the development of our project. Having begun to deliver electricity to the National Electric System shows the reality and benefits of CSP technology. We know that the entry of a new technology to the country is a great responsibility, that […]

Description On March 25, 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) Fiscal Year 2021 Photovoltaics and Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (FY21 PV and CSP) funding program, which will provide $39.5 million for projects that will advance solar PV and CSP research and development (R&D) and help eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from the […]

The 2010 SolarPACES Lifetime Award Winner Professor Valeriano Ruiz passed away earlier this week. From SolarPACES we would like to express our sympathy and condolences to his family and friends. Professor Valeriano Ruiz was among the earliest pioneers of solar thermal technology in Spain beginning in the 1970s, including pioneering the teaching of solar concentrating technologies as Professor on Thermodynamics […]

Source: Energy Storage News A US$75 million national research and development (R&D) facility for energy storage is expected to be up and running by 2025, the US Department of Energy (DOE) said yesterday. Called the Grid Storage Launchpad (GSL), 30 separate research laboratories will be hosted at the site including technology prototype testing chambers and […]

Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility launches R&D Voucher Program to further Concentrating Solar Power technologies January 29, 2021 9:21 pmPublished by Kelly Sullivan Sandia National Laboratories is currently seeking applications from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and individuals to further technologies related to Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility […]

Press Release: schlaich bergermann partner (sbp)  The German solar engineering consultancy schlaich bergermann partner (sbp) supplied the EuroTrough solar collector for the 100MW Urat CSP project in Inner Mongolia, the largest commercial parabolic trough project in China. The Urat project was developed and realized as part of the first round of the Chinese renewable energy demonstration […]

Swedish startup Azelio will see its long-duration Thermal Energy Storage (TES) technology used at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Complex (MBR) in Dubai, UAE. Recycled aluminium alloy is used as a phase change material to store heat which is then converted to electricity. The company’s TES technology stores energy as heat in a […]

Reuters: Saudi fund raises ownership stake in ACWA Power to 50% -statement CAIRO/DUBAI (Reuters) – The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, said on Thursday it has increased its stake in ACWA Power to 50% from 33.6% as part of a move to support the renewable energy sector in Saudi Arabia. ACWA […]

CSP uses thermal power blocks like coal plants, but the advantage is that sunlight is the “fuel” so solar can be stored for very long periods Read More …

Webinar: Retrofitting CSP projects to store and integrate variable renewable energy (VRE) in the grid 5 November at 12:00 CET (Check your local time) Spain’s Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PINEC) targets 74% of power from renewable sources by 2030, with more than 25GW of PV capacity expected to be added by that year. Hybrid […]

Wednesday October 28th at 12:00 CET CSP is a key player in the renewable energy market, overcoming some of the issues PV plants leave in the dispatch of solar energy. Tower projects with molten salt storage have taken key attention of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) projects, helping to provide dispatchability and flexibility to grid operators.< CSP […]