Heliostat concentration boosted by shape-shifting glass

By manipulating the shape of heliostats in real time, the optical efficiency of solar fields for tower CSP can be significantly increased, according to a paper presented at the New Mexico SolarPACES Conference: Heliostat with Automatic Shape Adjustment for High Concentration Throughout the Day, presented Read More …

Current CSP Research Funding Opportunities

Current CSP Research Funding Opportunities

August 2023 DOE heliostat prize submissions due Aug 31 The American-Made Heliostat Prize is a $3 million competition designed to accelerate technology innovation through the design, development, and demonstration of key components of heliostats. Heliostats are devices that tilt mirrors to track the sun and Read More …

US DOE announces $135 million industrial decarbonization awards

40 Projects Across 21 States Will Advance Technologies to Decarbonize American Industry and Help Create Good-Paying Jobs WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $135 million for 40 projects that will reduce carbon pollution from the industrial sector and move the nation Read More …

DOE announces 7 awards to cut heliostat costs

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories, co-leads of the Heliostat Consortium, announced seven awardees from a request for proposals (RFP) aimed at achieving DOE’s goals for heliostat cost reduction, sustained multifaceted innovation, and improved solar field performance. Heliostats Read More …

DOE seeks stakeholder R&D advice to advance solar fuels

Source: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) has issued a request for information (RFI) on the technology needs and cost targets for renewable fuels produced using solar-thermal energy and thermal Read More …

Solar heat to decarbonize industries gets $13 million boost from DOE

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 Read More …

RFP to Demo Long Duration Energy Storage Innovations

[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 Read More …

For 100% Renewables, DOE Speeds-up Storage Policy

DOE workshops educate regulators on long duration energy storage (LDES) A Federal energy project funded through the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity has initiated workshops designed to help state utility regulators determine best practices in policies to enable carbon-free energy storage technologies Read More …

Long Duration Energy Storage gets New R&D Lab in Biden’s DOE

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 Read More …

US DOE Announces Quarterfinalists in $9 Million Solar Desalination Prize

The American-Made Challenges: Solar Desalination Prize is a four-stage, $9 million prize competition, providing an additional $1 million in support, designed to accelerate the development of low-cost desalination systems that use solar-thermal power to produce clean water from salt water. Competitors will receive cash prizes Read More …

Capabilities of Each of the Solar Fuels Research Institutions

Capabilities of Each of the Solar Fuels Research Institutions

NATION; CITY INSTITUTE ITEM: 2020 STATUS DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATION CONTACT Australia; Canberra ANU High-Flux Solar Simulator 18×Xe lamps, focal heat 15 kWth with approx 10,000 suns. Lab is equipped with gas supplies. Professor Wojciech Lipinski Australia; Canberra ANU Little Dish 20 m² dish concentrator, with peak CR Read More …

Applications Open for US DOE $9 Million Solar Thermal Desalination Prize

Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the launch of the $9 million American-Made Challenges: Solar Desalination Prize, a competition to accelerate the development of systems that use solar-thermal energy to produce clean water from very-high-salinity water. “The U.S. has the Read More …

US Lists $30 Million in 2019 CSP Research Awards

On November 6, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy announced $128 million in funding for 75 projects in this program. Thirteen of these projects will focus on CSP research and development. Concentrating Solar Power Research and Development: $30 million for 13 research projects that enable CSP to Read More …

Current Job Openings in CSP Research and on CSP Projects

September 2023 Manager, Solar Thermal Testing and Demonstration We are seeking a highly motivated manager to lead the Solar Thermal Testing & Demonstration Department within the Renewable Energy Technologies Group (Org 8920). The Group conducts fundamental and applied R&D to improve performance, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness Read More …

US DOE Funds Terrafore’s Phase Change Energy Storage Test

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has released funding to the Argonne National Laboratory for a scaled-up round of independent testing of Terrafore Technologies’ innovative encapsulated thermal energy storage in phase change salts, designed to operate in temperatures to greater than 800°C in a single tank that acts as both storage and heat exchanger.

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USA

Latest Online: 2015 Crescent Dunes: 110 MW SolarPACES-NREL database: All plant details on this CSP project 110 MW Crescent Dunes, tower CSP with 10 hours of storage, operational 2015-2019, and since 2021 Latest CSP in Development Sandia Gen-3 Particle-based CSP Research by the DOE has resulted Read More …

TASK II: Solar Chemistry Research

TASK II: Solar Chemistry Research

Operating Agent: Dr Woei Saw, The University of Adelaide, woei.saw@adelaide.edu.au Nature of the work & Objectives Task II addresses the demonstration, scale-up, and market penetration of solar-driven thermochemical processes for the production of fuels (e.g. hydrogen, syngas, methanol, kerosene, diesel) and materials (e.g. metals – Read More …