To help propel new forms of renewable energy, the Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office has been encouraging development of next generation concentrating solar power (CSP) systems. CSP systems offer a distinct advantage over photovoltaics by enabling energy storage through means other than batteries. CSP uses a field of mirrors (heliostats) to concentrate sunlight …
DOE To Build Concentrated Solar Power Demonstration Facility At Sandia National Lab
Sandia Labs is building a concentrated solar power demonstration facility that is scheduled for completion in 2024. Remember when a camp counselor showed you how to use a magnifying glass to burn your name onto a piece of wood? That’s essentially what concentrated solar power or CSP does. An array of mirrors spread across a …
DOE Breaks Ground on Concentrating Solar Power Pilot Culminating $100 Million Research Effort
The U.S. Department of Energy celebrated the groundbreaking of its Generation 3 concentrating solar-thermal pilot facility at Sandia National Laboratories. This demonstration is the culmination of a $100 million research effort to develop next-generation concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) plants and showcase storage technology that could provide one gigawatt of storage for one hour at a …
New Mexico will host a new concentrated solar power plant that could kill coal, gas, and nuclear energy all at once
Fans of concentrating solar power have weathered a storm of criticism over the years, but the dream just won’t die. They speak of a 100-megawatt facility that can deliver electricity 24/7, just like a nuclear power plant but without the risk factor and the fancy price tag, too. That’s asking a lot, but the US …
Sandia breaks ground on its Gen-3 particle-based Concentrated Solar Power tech demo
The pilot at Sandia will demonstrate its next-generation high-temperature concentrated solar technology that can be used for energy storage, power production, industrial process heat, or solar fuel production. Among the challenges addressed during the particle-based high-temperature solar technology developed at Sandia is that at any one time, almost 3 tons of hot sand would be …
CEMEX, Sandia Labs, and Synhelion to scale concentrated solar power technology to produce cement
CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. («CEMEX») announced today that the U.S. Department of Energy awarded US$3.2 million to Solar MEAD, a joint project headed by CEMEX, Sandia National Laboratories, and Synhelion, which aims to decarbonize cement production. Solar MEAD aims to replace the use of fossil fuels with concentrated solar thermal (“CST”) energy in clinker production, …
DOE allots $1.6 billion to decarbonize coal country
“Today, Treasury and IRS, in partnership with DOE, announced the intent to release approximately $4 billion in a first round of tax credits for projects that expand U.S. supply chains for clean energy technologies and critical materials for clean energy technology production, and for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions at industrial facilities. Approximately $1.6 …
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New DOE solar technologies funding for early stage Concentrated Solar Power direct heat
The US DOE announces new 2023 solar technologies funding of $200,000 initially for early stage CSP/CST innovations, and up to $1.1 million on proof of feasibility. On December 12, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released new funding for the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Phase I program for Fiscal Year …
Australia-US thermal storage technology progresses to demonstration phase
Next-generation solar thermal energy storage technology developed in partnership with the Australian Solar Thermal Research Initiative (ASTRI) has reached a major milestone, with the United States Department of Energy announcing it will fund commercial-scale testing. The technology, which has been produced with input from CSIRO, the Australian National University and the University of Adelaide, converts …
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New DOE Funding for Concentrated Solar Power: Webinar April 12
On March 25, 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) Fiscal Year 2021 Photovoltaics and Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (FY21 PV and CSP) funding program, which will provide $39.5 million for projects that will advance solar PV and CSP research and development (R&D) and help eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from the energy …
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