EU looks to free itself from Russian energy using world’s largest concentrated solar power plant: ‘Reliability is key’

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has accelerated attempts by European nations to move away from energy typically sourced from the largest country in the world. Oil, gas, and coal have been exported from Russia in vast quantities for years, but alternatives are now being sought to meet national energy demands without having to import from a …

Published at Solar Energy – Numerical analysis of wind-induced convective heat losses in large-scale open volumetric cavity receivers and the evaluation of countermeasures

FIGURE 1: Schematic of solar power plant with open volumetric receiver (OVR). Abstract: This study investigates the wind influence on the operation of an open volumetric cavity receiver (OVR) designed with a tower height of approximately 200m and a total thermal power of 240MW�ℎ. The receiver design incorporates an air return system where parts of the air are returned between the …

Request for Information: Supercritical Carbon Dioxide-Based Turbomachinery for Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power Plants

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) issued a request for information (RFI) to better understand the opportunities to deploy supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) based turbomachinery for concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) plants. Electrical power generation based on sCO2 as the working fluid has the potential to yield higher thermal efficiencies at …

Chile, 17 hours of storage with Concentrated Solar Power

In the Atacama Desert, the driest in the world located in northern Chile, the only Concentrated Solar Power tower in Latin America operates, a symbol of an energy revolution in the making against climate change. Aerial view of Cerro Dominador, the first concentrated solar power plant in Latin America, in Antofagasta, Chile. The imposing 240-meter …

Another standalone thermal energy storage tech – the Heatcube

Heatcube tanks of molten-salts ©Kyotogroup Norway’s Heatcube began life in a quest to replace wood-fired heat used in the tea industry in rural Africa. “The idea was to try to bring cheap heat to Africa,” explained Kyotogroup’s Tim de Haas. “The challenge was that farmers were using a good portion of their land to cultivate …

Vast and Nabors Energy Transition Corp. Announce Closing of Business Combination, Establishing Public Concentrated Solar Power Company

Vast Renewables Limited (“Vast” or the “Company”), a renewable energy company specialising in concentrated solar thermal power (“CSP”) energy systems that generate zero-carbon, utility-scale electricity and industrial process heat, today announced the completion of its business combination (the “Business Combination”) with Nabors Energy Transition Corp. (“NETC”), an affiliate of Nabors Industries Ltd. (“Nabors”) (NYSE: NBR). …

Techno-economic assessment of concentrated solar power generation in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia plans to shift a large portion of its domestic energy production away from fossil fuel towards solar energy by 2030. Yet, the solar energy pool is mainly targeting photovoltaic technology. This study analyzes the potential of cleaner energy production from solar energy using concentrated solar power technology. First, different locations for concentrated solar …

Published at Renewable Energy – Techno-economic assessment of concentrated solar power generation in Saudi Arabia

Abstract: Saudi Arabia plans to shift a large portion of its domestic energy production away from fossil fuel towards solar energy by 2030. Yet, the solar energy pool is mainly targeting photovoltaic technology. This study analyzes the potential of cleaner energy production from solar energy using concentrated solar power technology. First, different locations for concentrated solar power technology deployment are …

Published at Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis – Biochar pyrolyzed with concentrated solar radiation for enhanced nitrate adsorption

Abstract: Biochar has been recognized as an effective soil amendment for reducing nitrogen leaching in agriculture, but its large-scale implementation is impeded by the costly production process due to high energy requirements for thermal decomposition of feedstock. This study aimed to develop a novel pyrolysis system utilizing concentrated solar radiation to produce biochar and explore …