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. Low-cost heliostats offer significant renewable energy [...]
The Small Innovative Projects in Solar (SIPS) 2023 funding opportunity will award $6.5 million for seedling R&D projects that focus on innovative and novel ideas in photovoltaics (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP). Announced by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), they are seeking projects that [...]
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 energy storage. DOE looking for stakeholder advice to advance commercialization of solar fuels such as jet [...]
James McKenzie believes that “concentrator solar power” could be the answer to our environmental woes. The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in Nevada uses thousands of mirrors to focus sunlight onto a tank of water at the top of a tower, with the resulting steam being used to drive turbines. (Courtesy: [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
“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 [...]
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 [...]
Pasadena-based solar thermal energy company Heliogen Inc. on Oct. 24 announced that it is to receive a $4.1 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office to accelerate the large-scale development and deployment of its technology. Heliogen has been developing technology to harness the sun’s energy to [...]
