NREL's Sand-based 100-hour long-duration thermal energy storage technology moves to demonstration phase at 10 hours Four years ago, researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) won Department of Energy (DOE) ARPA-E funding to invent a new...
night solar
Completed! Redstone Tower CSP project in South Africa is online
[Ed: Finally, the Redstone Tower CSP in South Africa is completed!The California start-up SolarReserve had initially developed the project in 2014, competing during the early years of South Africa's CSP push, but it was delayed time after time by South Africa's...
Heat trap demonstrated in quartz at over 1,000°C for solar receivers
Solar receiver efficiency in concentrated solar thermal (CST) energy is determined by how much solar radiation can be converted into useful heat for industry processes or solar thermochemistry. Heat lost to outside air reduces efficiency, so researchers are looking...
Published at Applied Thermal Engineering – Enhancement of the Power-to-Heat Energy Conversion Process of a Thermal Energy Storage Cycle through the use of a Thermoelectric Heat Pump
Abstract: The principal strategy for achieving a neutral climate entails enhancing the share of renewable energies in the energy mix, in conjunction with promoting innovation in efficient technologies. Thermal energy storage systems have the potential to efficiently...
CSP desalination siting tool demonstrated in Australia
A team of Australian researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has combined three tools to assess the economic viability of a hybrid CSP and desalination plant applicable for any region worldwide. “The interesting thing is you can modify this by...
What happened with Crescent Dunes?
The Crescent Dunes CSP project in the US was the first of a kind: The first tower CSP with thermal energy storage at full-scale; 110 MW. (Above about 150 MW, the distances of the solar field encircling the tower receiver has optical limits) It was developed by the...
Spain seeks thermal energy storage proposals by September
The government of Spain is launching €280 million (US$310 million) in grants for standalone energy storage projects, thermal energy storage and reversible pumped hydro to go online in 2026. The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge...
Chile
Latest Online: 2022 Cerro Dominador 110 MW SolarPACES-NREL database: All plant details on the 110 MW Cerro Dominador tower CSP project The 110 MW Cerro Dominador tower CSP project with 17.5 hours of thermal energy storage first synchronized to the grid in 2021 and was...
Three Gorges’ new Chinese CSP project tries a double solar field
One of the new CSP projects Three Gorges Renewables is building is a novel dual-tower design at Guazhou, in Gansu Province
Molten salt melt starts for huge 700 MW DEWA CSP project
Herlogas, in collaboration with Shanghai Electric, has now successfully melted 340,000 tons of salt for molten salt thermal energy storage and preheated 14 salt tanks at the largest concentrated solar power plant in the world, DEWA 's 700 MW CSP project NOOR I at the...
Saudi CSP giant ACWA Power now shelving coal power
[ED: ACWA Power's CSP projects, developed in whole or in part include Bokpoort and Redstone in South Africa, parts of DEWA in Dubai and NOOR I,II and III in Morocco. It has consistently broken current CSP prices with new record low prices, and broken week-long...
China’s solar increased 33.7% in the 1st quarter of 2023, while coal increased 1.8%
China's solar increased by 33.7 % in the first quarter, while coal power increased at 1.8%. Solar now has a cumulative 430 GW online, almost half of China's cumulative total of coal power plants; 1,130 GW. The latest quarterly report by the China Electricity Council...
Chile’s 2023 auction will incentivize dispatchable CSP
Major changes for Chile's next auction include incentives for energy storage and non-variable renewables like CSP, a splitting of the auction into three geographic zones (north, central, south), an increase in contract length to 20 years, and the possibility of...
China prioritizes CSP connection and dispatch in new rule
"The power grid company is requested to give priority support to the grid connection and dispatching of the base projects equipped with solar thermal power" says a new government planning document. Source: CSPPlaza China National Energy Administration issued the...
Solar energy record: Mongolian CSP generated round the clock
Solar energy record - 12 days, 24 hours a day In a solar energy record for round-the-clock power generation, Mongolia's Wulate 100MW trough CSP project ran continuously for 12 days, generating pure solar energy without batteries; due to the thermal energy storage in...
Shanghai Electric CSP starts sending overnight solar power to Dubai grid
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...
Paper Shows How Dispatchable CSP Can Solve the EU Gas Crisis
Replacing flexible gas before baseload coal is the EU’s new focus. This makes the case for the dispatchable solar; CSP much stronger.
China’s Curtailments go up as Renewables Growth Explodes
Need for energy storage increases as China overshoots renewable deployment
DOE Invests Half a Billion to De-risk Cheaper Energy Storage
(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...
China’s CSP at Hami Expected to be 250 MW by 2025
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...
Latest In: