Researchers propose combining a solar receiver with energy storage within one unit on the ground, by using a beam-down optical reflecting system
Novel CSP Design Combines the Solar Receiver with Thermal Energy Storage
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Susan Kraemer
Add Hydrogen Combustion to a Solar Reactor for Carbon-Free Mining and Mineral Processing
Iron, nickel, alumina and copper mining processes are among the industrial processes that require heat at between 700°C and 1000°C. The advanced concentrated solar thermal (CST)reactors being developed by researchers globally can attain temperatures this high (and...
SolarPACES 2018 Proceedings Now Published with AIP
SolarPACES 2018 Proceedings Now Published with AIP The SolarPACES 2018 conference proceedings are now published with AIP, the American Institute of Physics (www.aip.org), volume number 2126. All accepted papers are freely accessible on the AIP website and contain an...
Could China’s Global Grid Idea Help Grow CSP?
China has an ambitious proposal for a global HVDC grid to transfer renewable energy throughout the world. Interconnected regional electricity networks would be connected to a backbone of HVDC lines that would become a globe-spanning super grid by 2050. Advancing the...
Solar green hydrogen process that cuts costs
A preliminary study of the average cost of a novel process for producing solar hydrogen in several locations in Australia finds it could come close to the US DOE renewable hydrogen target of $3 per kilogram. The way that hydrogen is reformed from natural gas is a...
Designing Solar Furnaces to Make Biochars without Air Pollution
Charcoal might seem like a very low tech product, but lithium batteries, water filtration and super-capacitors are among its high tech end uses, and the requirements for these different purposes are actually very exacting. Solar researchers in Mexico are investigating...
Start-Up VC Invests in Beam-Down Concentrator for Solar Fuel
“Our “back of the envelop” communication with researchers is that $3 per gallon of gasoline equivalent (GGE) per kilogram of hydrogen could be obtainable,” said Al Maaitah.
Morocco’s Ourazazate Noor III CSP Tower Exceeds Performance Targets
The 150 MW Noor III CSP tower in Morocco has exceeded performance targets on output and storage integration in the first few months of operation and financing costs for tower storage projects should fall in line with parabolic trough rates going forward, Xavier Lara,...
Morocco Breaks New Record with 800 MW Midelt 1 CSP-PV at 7 Cents
Morocco's 800 MW CSP-PV Noor Midelt breaks last year's auction price record of 7.3 cents set by DEWA in the UAE, with winning bid at USD 7 cents/kWh The Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN) has announced that the consortium of EDF Renewables, Masdar, and...
VC-Funded Thermal “Battery” is Based on CSP Molten Salt Energy Storage
Standalone thermal storage: “Incredibly cheap grid-scale storage with a very long calendar life” The new Venture Capital (VC) firm Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) only invests in technologies they vet as both “scientifically feasible at scale” and with the...
China to Finance and Shanghai Electric to Build CSP for ACWA Power’s 950MW Dubai Solar Plant
EPC Contract with Shanghai Electric to Develop 700 MW DEWA CSP Project Signed in China ACWA Power Apr 15, 2018 DEWA and ACWA Power, in collaboration with Shanghai Electric, will undertake the 700 MW CSP portion of the 950 MW solar project in Dubai. Together with 250...
Make Carnot Batteries with Molten Salt Thermal Energy Storage in ex-Coal Plants
Retiring coal power plants could see a new life serving the green economy by storing renewable energy as thermal batteries, delivering the stored energy back to the grid using the former coal plant's existing power blocks and grid connections. Leveraging the low cost...
Study of Chile’s CSP Potential for Domestic Manufacturing
A study commissioned by the Chilean government and presented before the SolarPACES Conference in Morocco makes data available to potential participants in a Chilean CSP industry. The study, Local Content in CSP:CST Projects- Assessment of the Chilean Industry is...
May 7 Deadline for DOE $33 Million for CSP R&D in Storage, Manufacturing and Autonomous Technologies
CSP Researchers: Up to $33M is available under the US Department of Energy SETO office to support the development of low-cost storage technologies for CSP that make solar-thermal energy available on demand. In addition, the office is seeking projects that lower CSP...
Shouhang and EDF to Test s-CO2 Cycle in Concentrated Solar Power
China could be the first to deploy s-CO2 in CSP The world’s initial Concentrated SolarPower (CSP) plants continue to use the legacy steam cycles of conventional thermal plants. But steam cycle is a mature technology with temperature-based efficiency limits, hampering...
Australian Researchers Design a Solar Process for Algae-Derived Solar Fuel
Algae is a potential energy feedstock that is synergistic with solar fuels because algae can be grown in salt water on cheap desert land with a good solar resource, and it also contains the chemicals needed for making solar fuels (hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen)....
Trucks Transport Hot Particles Storing Energy 1 Kilometer for Multi-Tower CSP?
The tower form of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) is very young technology. Less than a gigawatt is deployed globally, making it a nascent technology at the “Cambrian explosion” stage; multiple innovations are still being explored to cut costs. (How tower CSP works) A...
Top Steelmaker Tests Thermal Energy Storage in Slag Byproduct to Cut CO2
Thermal energy stored in steel slag could replace fossil fuels used for heat in steel production
China Made Solar PV Cheap – Is CSP Next?
With China in the game, the outlook for the technology has gone from from gloomy to better than ever – however it also carries great risk
Researchers Test Solar to Cut CO2 in Cement Processing
Renewable energy researchers have been looking into how to cut CO2 emissions from processing industrial minerals like cement and lime, as these are responsible for a high share of the global greenhouse gas emissions. For every 10 tons of cement we produce, we release...
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CSP News & Analysis
- Hot bricks deliver heated gases at industry-standard flame temperatures up to 2000°C
- US researchers test a solar receiver at close to 1400°C
- How a German firm’s heliostats shine in China
- Did China actually commit to 15 GW of CSP in 5 years?
- Concentrated solar thermal in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan
- Concentrated solar heat and hydrogen to decarbonize iron ore processing
- Questions about China’s recent surge in CSP? Here are some answers
- The optimal internal receiver geometry for high temperature solar fuels
- Could waste brine from desalination plants help make steel greener?
- Tower CSP at Tangshan Haitai’s massive solar park runs a record 96 hours straight
- Solar experts offer a solution to satisfy both sides in Ivanpah decommissioning battle
- How big can a single tank to store molten salts be?
- Why Chile is ideal for deploying the solar sulfur cycle for green copper
- Concentrated solar lithium battery recycling demo bests fossil-fueled recovery rate
- Rethinking pressurized gases for Fresnel solar receivers
- Volateq’s drone-based monitoring targets key risks in parabolic trough collectors
- Ranga Pitchumani – we’ve just started scratching the surface of Gen3 CSP
- Stored solar heat gets an algorithm to ensure a steady supply
- Aluminum melted with Annular Fresnel solar at over 700°C
- Tallying a year’s sun on solar calcination with sCO2 cycles
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