From CSPPlaza: China’s power grid system has connected a new solar thermal power project. On the evening of 30th June, China’s first commercial-scale Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Delingha 50MW parabolic trough CSP station was successfully connected to the grid, achieving the milestone of grid connection. This means that the first […]

Source: RenewEconomy The world’s biggest solar tower power plant with molten salt storage has begun commissioning in Morocco, and is scheduled to begin production by October. The 150MW Noor Ouarzazate III solar receiver, with 7.5 hours of molten salt storage is only the second big scale project of its type, and trumps its predecessor in […]

China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) has announced that the deadline for the first batch of CSP demo projects can be extended to 2020, but with an electricity price reduction mechanism. On May 22, the NEA issued a notice, “Promoting the Construction of Solar Thermal Power Demonstration Projects”. The notice pointed out that the first batch […]

Source: Cerro Dominador May 18, 2018, Chile – Cerro Dominador, a Chilean company owned by investment funds managed by EIG Global Energy Partners (“EIG”), today announced the signing of the financing for its Solar Power Concentration (CSP) plant located in the Atacama desert, in Chile. This milestone will allow the company to complete the construction of […]

Source: CSPToday Design innovations and a favorable development framework should see Morocco hit its lowest prices for the hybrid PV-CSP Noor Midelt project and the country is joining global support schemes to diversify its funding supply, an official at the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen), said. Managed by Masen, the renewable program supported the […]

Source: RenewEconomy.com US solar company SolarReserve has sought approval to add a 70MW solar PV farm to the world leading solar tower and molten salt storage facility proposed for Port Augusta in South Australia. The plans for the additional solar PV are revealed in a development application to the South Australia Planning Commission, submitted in […]

Source: heliocsp.com Abengoa will provide the technology and develop the engineering to the LuNeng Haixi 50 MW solar thermal tower plant project, in the Qinghai province. The company will also be responsible for providing the technology and engineering for the Royal Tech Yumen project for a 50 MW solar thermal parabolic trough plant to be […]

International Conference presented innovative solutions in mirror cleaning, cooling systems, simulations Source: https://cordis.europa.eu/news/rcn/129321_en.html Concentrated solar power (CSP) is a promising electricity generation technology full of growing potential. However, traditional wet-cooled CSP plants often consume a large amount of water which especially causes a challenge in arid areas where water resources are scarce. The International Conference on […]

Carbon dioxide (CO2) Global energy-related CO2 emissions grew by 1.4% in 2017, reaching a historic high of 32.5 gigatonnes (Gt), a resumption of growth after three years of global emissions remaining flat. The increase in CO2 emissions, however, was not universal. While most major economies saw a rise, some others experienced declines, including the United […]

Agreements opening the way for the construction of 27 renewable-energy independent power producer (IPP) projects, with a combined investment value of R56-billion and a combined capacity of 2 300 MW, were finally signed on Wednesday April 4, after a confidence-sapping delay of over two years. Read More …

Source: EurekAlert! The thousands of metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from power plants each year doesn’t have to go into the atmosphere. Researchers are optimistic that within the next decade we will be able to affordably capture CO2 waste and convert it into useful molecules for feedstock, biofuels, pharmaceuticals, or renewable fuels. On […]

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), signed into law by US Democrats in response to the international financial meltdown of 2008, offered the biggest boost for renewables since President Carter first funded solar research in the ’70s. Today, in a repudiation of funding slashes sought by both the majority Republican Party and his own administration, […]

From CSPToday: Libya’s Misurata Free Zone (MFZ) has signed a memorandum of understanding with consultancy iQ Power to develop integrated CSP and PV projects with up to 300 MW total capacity. MFZ, the first free trade zone established on Libyan territory, has shown its desire to develop a solar energy industry, according to a iQ […]

  Via RenewEconomy: Oz Minerals signed a landmark deal with US-based SolarReserve, the developer of the 150MW solar tower and molten salt storage projects near Port Augusta, to share part of the cost of a new 270km high voltage transmission line. It is believed to be the first deal of its type where costs are […]

From HelioCSP: According to Solargis, China has good potential to develop CSP industry in terms of solar resources, but with strong geographic diversification. Abundant direct normal irradiance is found in the Western regions of Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Gansu. Average annual DNI in these regions varies between 1700 and 2300 kWh/m2. For reliable […]

Acciona has reached an agreement to sell its five solar thermal plants in Spain (with a combined capacity of 250MW) to ContourGlobal plc. The transaction amounts to €1.09 billion, which could increase by €27 million, to €1.12 billion, if certain milestones are met. Once completed, the deal will enable the Acciona group to reduce debt […]

The engineering and technology group SENER and Acciona achieved the connection of the 100-MW concentrated solar power (CSP) plant to the 132 kV ESKOM Distribution line on February 23, 2018. Main and auxiliary transformers have been energized which represents a relevant milestone for power plant commissioning activities. The Kathu Solar Park CSP Plant, which will supply […]

The 1,021 MWth solar thermal EOR project will generate 6,000 tons of solar steam each day, one gigawatt of solar thermal energy From Glasspoint: Fremont, California, February 12th, 2018 – Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), the leading exploration and production company in the Sultanate of Oman, and GlassPoint Solar, the leading supplier of solar energy to the […]

From Reuters: BEIJING, Jan 25 (Reuters) – China’s SPIC Shijiazhuang Dongfang Energy said on Thursday it plans to build a high-tech solar power plant in Inner Mongolia with capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW), which would be one of the largest of its kind in the world’s top solar market. The project would cost about 46 […]

  Report from CSPPLAZA: In 2017, global installed capacity of CSP totals 5133MW, representing an increase of 2.3% over 2016, according to statistics from CSPPLAZA research center. On the basis of 5017MW of 2016, the CSP installed capacity in 2017 showed only a slight increase for the reason that several projects haven’t put into operation, […]

Gulf Base reports: Saudi Arabia-based ACWA Power, the power and desalination plant producer, could go public within the next two years, according to its CEO and President Paddy Padmanathan. ACWA, which has garnered a reputation for building renewable energy projects at record low prices, is looking for an initial public offering (IPO) as soon as […]

Renewable energy costs for the four main clean energy technologies is covered in an exhaustive new report from IRENA: Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2017. The cost trajectories for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), solar PV, onshore and offshore wind can be found in the full report which notes: “The sharp cost reductions for CSP, solar PV, onshore and […]

SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Corporation, one of two EPCs involved in construction, (SENER, the EPS for Gemasolar is the other one) said that project synchronization to the grid of the first 10 MW of ACWA Power’s Noor II solar plant was accomplished successfully on January 10, 2018 at 16:52. Unit operating indicators were normal, marking […]

Morocco’s first operating CSP plant has shown that concentrating solar power can solve the problem of energy blackouts in the peak evening hours, a senior representative of the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN) told the recent CSP Seville conference. The 160 MW Noor 1 parabolic trough power plant exceeded its objectives in year one […]

ADELAIDE, Australia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SolarReserve has received Development Approval for its Aurora Solar Energy Project, a key milestone required to build the landmark 150 megawatt solar thermal power station 30 kilometers north of Port Augusta. The approval process examined a range of critical elements including environmental, community, and social impacts of the Aurora project, which were assessed by […]

Renewable Hydrogen For Export Funding Round Deadline for submissions is February 28, 2018 Following a positive response to our recent Exporting Renewable Hydrogen RFI, we are opening an R&D funding round from 20 December 2017 to 5pm AEDT 28 February 2018. ARENA will be inviting a broad range of R&D applications, from early stage R&D […]

According to Power Technology, TuNur applied to the Tunisian Government to begin construction of their proposed 4.5GW concentrated solar power (CSP) project in the Sahara Desert at a price for power that is expected to be 8.73 cents per kilowatt hour, much lower than suggested three months ago. [Ed note: when SolarPACES interviewed TuNur CEO […]

Sign up for the Webinar from ATA: Morocco’s solar energy opportunities 22 Jan, 12:00 CET (Check your local time) Morocco is arguably the North African country that has made the most effort towards creating a national solar energy industry. Morocco has no fossil fuel reserves, so it is almost entirely reliant on imports. To mitigate this, […]

A new study from UC Davis; Land-Sparing Opportunities for Solar Energy Development in Agricultural Landscapes: A Case Study of the Great Central Valley, CA, United States calculates the potential energy generation from Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and photovoltaics (PV) in terawatt hours (TWh) annually in California, by looking only at unwanted land within the Central […]

Source: CSP Focus: Abengoa has developed three solar thermal power plants for electricity generation in the north of the country. Xina Solar One -the last to be constructed- achieved practical completion back in August 2017, and has successfully completed its first three months of operation.  XiNa Solar One, the solar thermal parabolic trough plant that Abengoa has […]

ACWA Power South Africa Deputy Managing Director Nandu Bhula said that he had been personally assured at the Energy Indaba last week that all 27 contracts would be signed “in the next week” Read More …

HeatVentors from Hungary is the winner of this year’s edition of international PowerUp! competition for innovative energy start-ups. Rita Farkas and Zoltán Andrássy presented a solution which offers an innovative thermal energy storage with phase change materials which can save 90% space and 20-40% energy with 0,5-2 years return on investment. The technology has a […]

For Immediate Release: December 2017, Johannesburg, South Africa: South Africa’s Bokpoort CSP celebrates another Production Milestone as the Global Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Drive Intensifies. The CEO for Bokpoort CSP, Mr Ryno Lacock was proud to announce that on the 27th November 2017, the plant clocked production of 1009.31 MWh in a single day. This […]

On 28 November 2017, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR), together with international project partners, presented what is currently the largest solar-chemical installation for the production of hydrogen. In the HYDROSOL_Plant project, scientists and companies have jointly further developed the process of direct hydrogen production using solar radiation. By redeveloping both the […]

Long-distance, high-voltage transmission projects have been stymied, but a new transmission strategy would use existing right of ways along railroad tracks. Read More …

No respondents in a Gulf Intelligence Survey believe that EOR will continue to use fossil energy, and a total of 83% of Gulf region envision solar thermal steam like Glasspoint Solar’s Oman PDO Miraah and Bakersfield, California Aera solar EOR projects will be the norm for EOR within just three years The deployment of renewable […]

In October 2017, SolarReserve was first to bid CSP with storage at somewhere “under 5 cents” per kWh in Chile, according to CEO Kevin Smith From New Energy Update: The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of Middle East CSP projects could fall below $50/MWh next year, two of the industry’s leading consultants predicted at CSP […]

Over a period of 3-years, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has been doing R&D-activities on converting energy to heat in rock fill at a testing-unit in Hamburg. Now the company converts its findings into a real scale project. Starting in December, Siemens Gamesa will install the first full scale “Future Energy System – FES” on the […]

United States Department of Energy Funding Opprtunity You have until Monday, December 4 to submit a concept paper for the Solar Desalination funding opportunity. Solar Desalination aims to develop novel technologies or concepts using solar thermal energy to assist in creating freshwater from otherwise unusable waters. Thermal desalination is a potential solution to increase water supplies for municipal […]

In August 2016, SUPCON inaugurated China’s first molten salt tower CSP plant at 10 MW. The 50 MW Qinghai Gonghe CSP plant will be its second Power China’s Qinghai Gonghe 50MW Tower CSP Project, one of China 1st batch 20 pilot CSP projects, is owned and developed by Power Construction Corporation of China (shorted as […]

On Wednesday, Abengoa’s KaXu Solar One concentrated solar power (CSP) project, in South Africa’s Northern Cape, was presented with a Momentum of Change award by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The award was presented at 23rd UN Climate Change Conference, under way in Bonn, Germany. KaXu is a 100MW plant constructed on a […]

Scientists at the Institute for Solar Research tested the particle receiver CentRec for the first time with concentrated solar radiation in the DLR solar thermal power plant in October. In previous tests, the researchers had already irradiated smaller models under laboratory conditions with artificial sunlight. In the Solarturm Jülich, the temperature at the particle outlet of […]

Synlight: Researchers expect that within 10 years, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) can be used to split water to hydrogen chemically using the world’s desert sun: “Our focus is on the earth’s sun belt, whose rich solar resources are to provide value and prospects to the people living there” Since spring, the sun has been shining […]

WINDHOEK, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) — Namibia has the potential to light up Southern Africa, given its strategic location and ambitious plan for private investments in the power generation sector, according to the Finance Minister Calle Schlettwein. The public sector alone cannot respond to the enormous investment needed to meet the growing demand for electricity in […]

Some key points from the IEA’s World Energy Investment 2017:   Drop in fossil energy spending reduces market share For the first time ever, the electricity sector edged ahead of the oil and gas sector in 2016 to become the largest recipient of energy investment. However oil and gas still represent two-fifths of global energy […]

Time: 16 Nov, 11:00 CET (Check your local time) ATA Webinar: Solar for commercial and industrial (C&I) heat Sign up to attend Heat and steam generation can be complicated to source for industrial players. In fact, for commercial and industrial (C&I) purposes, the demand for heat is vastly superior to the demand for electricity (74% vs 26% respectively).  […]

MUSCAT, Oman–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) and GlassPoint Solar, the global leader in solar energy for the oil and gas industry, have completed construction on the first block of the Miraah solar plant safely on schedule and on budget, and has successfully delivered steam to the Amal West oilfield. Upon completion, Miraah will be among the world’s […]

The US$880 million Xina concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Pofadder, South Africa has successfully completed its first month of commercial operation. Mott MacDonald was lenders’ technical advisor during the project’s financing and construction stages and will now monitor operations in an ongoing role. Xina solar plant capacity Awarded during the third round of South Africa’s Renewable […]

A tender that Chile is carrying out to ensure long-term power supply has attracted 24 proposals from companies that offer up to ten times the amount of energy the country planned to buy. The auction, which aims to guarantee an electricity generation of 2,200 GWh from January 2024, should result in “very competitive prices” for […]

SolarReserve this month issued bids in Chile’s latest auction for 24-hour solar under 5 cents per kWh SolarReserve this month issued bids in Chile’s latest auction for 24-hour solar under 5 cents per kWh, according to CEO Kevin Smith in a release posted on Twitter, Saturday. “Irradiation levels in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile […]

By Jason Deign for Greentechmedia Thermal storage hasn’t garnered the level of industry attention lately as battery storage, which is experiencing quickly falling prices and rising deployments. But thermal storage, and molten salt in particular, actually exceeds the capacity of battery storage in operation so far, according to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency. […]

New Energy Update has published a list of all the CSP projects in the pipeline in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The list includes projects that are already under construction, but also ones that are only in development, or merely announced. While some projects announced or in development may not ultimately get […]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories engineers have developed new fractal-like, concentrating solar power receivers for small- to medium-scale use that are up to 20 percent more effective at absorbing sunlight than current technology. The receivers were designed and studied as part of a Laboratory Directed Research and Development project and are also being applied to Sandia’s […]

ECOWAS Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREE ), has began processes to help Ghana exploit the abundant solar thermal energy potential for domestic and industrial use. Ghana’s geographic location around the equatorial sun-belt provides strategic advantage to exploit the abundant solar energy resources to fix its energy needs. The exploitation and installation of […]

Senate Bill 338, which mandates that utilities come up with non-gas generation options to meet peak demand, was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. California has put its utilities on notice: When you’re putting together your next integrated resource plans, you’d better have non-gas generating options for meeting peak demand. That’s what Governor Jerry […]

Australia has some of the highest readings in the world for Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) the solar radiation used in Concentrating Solar Thermal (CST). The Queensland government has received 115 proposals from 79 different firms for its recently launched tender for the “Renewables 400” program. Among them are dispatchable concentrated solar thermal (D-CST) proposals with […]

American citizens had no water after Category 5 Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, a US Territory How we talk about the climate crisis matters. A recent study found that not nearly enough Americans discuss the climate crisis – on a regular basis. A survey by Yale and George Mason University researchers found that only 19% of Americans hear […]

. DOE-backed startup Skysun aims to do away with fiddly motors and support structures By Jason Deign for Greentechmedia Just when it looked like concentrated solar power (CSP) couldn’t get cheaper, a U.S.-based startup says it’s found a way of cutting heliostat costs by a third. Skysun, of Bay Village, Ohio, is aiming to achieve the […]

Khi Solar One began operations in 2016 September 29 (Renewables Now) – Abengoa SA (BME:ABG) moved to positive EBITDA of EUR 16 million (USD 18.9m) in the first half of 2017, compared to negative EUR 59 million a year earlier, attributing the improvement to efforts to cut overhead costs. Had it not been for one-offs, […]

The giant 700 MW project in Dubai will combine tower and trough technologies and use scale and local infrastructure synergies to set a new benchmark price of $73/MWh for CSP with storage, Andrea Lovato, ACWA Power’s Executive Director of Business Development, told New Energy Update. ACWA Power will use learnings from its Noor CSP project […]

Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and China’s Shanghai Power have been selected as the winners in the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) competitive auction, for the world’s largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant at 700 MW. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, hailed the launch of the world’s largest plant, a […]

CSP Plaza is reporting: Beijing Shouhang IHW Resources Saving Technology Co., Ltd. just signed a Cooperation Framework Agreement on Jointly Developing CSP Business with CNNP Liaoning Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (CNLNPC). In the announcement posted late night the same day the agreement is signed, Shouhang cites to establish a joint venture with CNLNPC, through which the two […]

On September 14th, the National Energy Administration officially released the “Chinese 1 GW Demonstration Project Short List”, with total installed capacity of 1GW, including 9 tower plants, 7 parabolic trough plants and 4 Fresnel plants. a total of 20 projects in the short list of the first batch of China CSP demonstration projects. Very tight […]

Energy Department Announces Achievement of SunShot Goal, New Focus for Solar Energy Office WASHINGTON, D.C. – In conjunction with the annual Solar Power International conference, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released new research today that shows the solar industry has achieved the 2020 utility-scale solar cost target set by the SunShot Initiative. Largely due to rapid […]

China’s first commercial concentrated solar power plant has begun a test run and is scheduled to send power to the grid by the end of this year, said the operator on Monday. The Delingha solar thermal power station operated by the China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) in northwestern province of Qinghai made its first […]

Subprogram: Concentrating Solar Power Funding Number: DE-FOA-0001821 The SunShot Initiative intends to release a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for solar desalination technology, which supports research, development, and potential demonstration of early- stage technologies that can significantly reduce the costs of desalination powered by solar thermal energy. Rather than utilizing high-value electricity as an energy input, solar thermal desalination […]

South Africa’s acclaimed Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) Programme has stalled for more than two years as Eskom refused to sign PPAs with 37 IPPs Read More …

TuNur Ltd has filed a request in the Tunisian Ministry of Energy, Mines and Renewable Energy for the authorization of a 4.5GW solar energy export project destined to fuel Europe. Read More …

By Roger Lilley for EE Publishers. With yet another renewable energy (RE) project completed on time and on budget, one has to wonder why the Departments of Energy (DoE) and Public Enterprises (DPE) tolerate Eskom’s continued refusal to sign additional power producer agreements. It is especially puzzling since the latest REIPPP energy price bids that […]

A Fraunhofer study comparing annual energy yields per square meter has found that solar thermal collectors will produce on average about three times as many kilowatt hours from the same amount of space as photovoltaic solar. The study was conducted by Florian Dallhammer and Christoph Kost from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Germany, […]

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) issued on 15 January 2017 a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a 200MW CSP plant, the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The lowest bid has come in at 9.45 US cents/kWh. The three other bids ranged from 10.58 cents to 17.35 cents. DEWA […]

The 2010 SolarPACES Lifetime Award Winner Arnold Goldman passed away earlier this week. From SolarPACES we would like to express our sympathy and condolences to his family and friends. The solar industry lost a beloved innovator this week with the passing of Arnold Goldman, founder of BrightSource Energy and Luz International. More than thirty years ago, Mr. Goldman pioneered the […]

On Friday 5 May, The International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has condemned the Kingdom of Spain to pay €128 million to Eiser Infrastructure Limited and its affiliate Energia Solar Luxembourg due to the reforms undertaken by the Spanish Government affecting the renewable sector. The Spanish Energy Ministry is considering an appeal […]

1) Techno-economic Consultant to assist NamPower with the feasibility of CSP plants in NamPower. The funding for the Techno-economic Consultant will be financed by Sustainability 4All thought the EIB. The Procurement notice has been published on the EIB website and NamPower website. http://www.nampower.com.na/Tenders.aspx Short description of procurement notice: NamPower, the national power utility of Namibia, has embarked […]