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Concentrated solar power accounts for only a fraction of the overall green energy market, but recent research suggests smaller-scale designs could help revitalise interest in the sector. We talk to Luis Crespo, president of Protermosolar, Spain’s solar thermal electricity association. With demand for clean, affordable energy spiking around the world, it may seem counterintuitive to …
Continue reading “Why thinking small could help reignite the concentrated solar power sector”
As the world looks to Germany as a shining example of how to shift away from polluting coal power, a Queensland-based nuclear expert says solar thermal power is the way forward for Australia. Paul Wilson, a nuclear engineer with almost five decades’ experience, told ABC Radio Brisbane’s Steve Austin he was disappointed Australia was not …
Continue reading “Concentrated Solar Power the way forward for is Australia despite hiccups”
Solastor from Australia devised the solution. Alfa Mediterranean is waiting for a loan from the European Investment Bank to start building the concentrated solar power system. It is backed by an EU program. The minority government of Cyprus has succeeded in its fourth attempt to squeeze a European NER300 funding project through parliament, with the …
Continue reading “Cyprus passes EUR 60.2 million guarantee for concentrated solar power project”
Concentrated solar power plants are aggressive environments rife with high temperatures, drastic temperature changes, excessive vibration, extreme characteristics and volatile ambient conditions. Flow management systems, especially piping system components, must be able to perform reliably within these aggressive environments, and the materials from which these valves are manufactured play a significant role in their collective …
Continue reading “Flow Control in Concentrated Solar Power Generation”
IMAGE@Solar Water: Heliostats (mirrors) surround a 25 meter tall glass dome to reflect concentrated solar heat (CSH) to a metal grid forming the top half of a “kettle” heating and distilling seawater fed in by covered aqueduct. Source: Power-Technology Saudi Arabia has appointed the UK-based Solar Water PLC to build the first ‘carbon-neutral’ desalination plant …
Continue reading “Concentrated Solar Heat to Desalinate Seawater at Saudi Neom City”
Soon to hit the market, auto-calibrating heliostat systems will cut capex, accelerate construction times and expand siting potential, suppliers told New Energy Update. As CSP developers drive for lower costs, heliostat performance has become a key area of research. Heliostats can represent half of the capital costs of a Concentrated Solar Power plant and misalignment …
Continue reading “Self-aligning heliostats arrive to slice Concentrated Solar Power costs”
Morocco aims to have renewable energy constitute 42% of its energy production by the end of 2020. Morocco remains a leader in the Arab world in terms of electricity from renewable energy, a study from the King Abdullah Center for Petroleum Studies and Research has found. The study reveals Morocco is the leader in generating …
Continue reading “Morocco, Arab Leader in Electricity Generation from Renewable Energy”
HELIOVIS has been running a demo plant in Spain for two years demonstrating their novel low-cost blow-up plastic tube solar collector for CSP. The small startup is fighting hard to get the industry-scale financial backing needed to introduce the technology and to make commercial sales. IMAGE@HELIOVIS – How the pneumatic solar collector (right) is inflated …
Continue reading “HELIOtube, plastic tube solar collector for Concentrated Solar Power”
NREL’s High-Flux Solar Furnace (HFSF) is a unique 10-kilowatt optical furnace that harnesses concentrated sunlight to test high-temperature processes or applications requiring high heating rates or solar concentration. At the top of NREL’s South Table Mountain campus, the HFSF is a unique user facility for testing high-temperature processes and applications. The HFSF contains a tracking …
Technology researched at Cranfield University that harnesses concentrated solar power to desalinate sea water is being adopted by a new smart city under construction in Saudi Arabia. NEOM – a region in northwest Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea being built from the ground up as a living laboratory – has signed an agreement with …