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DOE awards $62m to develop solar baseload technology

eSolar will receive funding to work on its modular CSP tower system

The federal government is providing $62 million over five years to develop concentrating solar power (CSP) technology aiming to find a “baseload” replacement for coal power stations.

The US Department of Energy is handing out funding to 13 projects, including three demonstration projects that will each gain more than $10 million.

Its intention is to speed up the development of the technology to help diversify US energy supplies an boost the clean energy economy.

CSP technology involves systems that collect sunlight over a wide area and focus it on a single point in order to heat up a fluid that can then be used to drive an electricity-generating turbine.

Because the fluid can retain its heat for long periods, CSP plants can generate electricity during short periods when the sun is no longer shining, for example when cloud cover is obscuring the sun.

This acts to even out the intermittency of generation seen in other forms of solar and renewable energy, and means a CSP can generate electricity during the first few hours of the night, when demand for electricity is usually high.

The DOE said the projects it is now funding should improve component and system designs to extend the potential electricity generation for a CSP plant to 18 hours per day.

This would mean CSP plants could displace traditional coal-burning power plants, the Department said.

“Crucial”

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu said: “Developing low-cost, renewable energy generation is crucial to meeting our nation’s increasing demands for electricity. By investing in the development of low-cost solar technologies we can create new jobs and pave the way towards a clean-energy future.”

Heading up the funding awards were three projects that will develop a prototype CSP baseload system.

Abengoa Solar, Inc., will receive up to $10.6 million to develop a power tower system using a central tower to collect heat from a reflective field mounted on the ground surrounding it. The system will heat a salt-based fluid to drive a turbine.

eSolar, Inc., will receive up to $10.8 million to build a CSP facility using multiple, modular towers, to heat up a molten salt fluid.

Aircraft engine specialists Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, California, will receive up to $10.2 million to explore new materials for CSP power tower receivers, aiming to produce a more efficient system to produce more electricity.

Feasibility studies

The remaining funding will be split between 10 projects carrying out feasibility studies on concepts and components that could form part of a CSP baseload system.

General Atomics of San Diego, CA, will receive $2.1 million to study a sulfur-based energy storage system for CSP plants that could allow energy to be stored for longer.

HiTek Services, Inc., of Owens Cross Roads, AL, will look at the reflective surfaces that capture sunlight – known as heliostats – that represent the most expensive part of a CSP system. With a $3 million award, HiTek Services will aim to cut the upfront costs of CSP plants.

Infinia Corporation of Kennewick, WA will use up to $3.0 million to develop a thermal energy storage system that can be used with solar dishes.

PPG Industries, Inc., of Cheswick, PA, will aim to develop a next-generation, low-cost heliostat with its $3 million funding. SkyFuel, Inc., of Albuquerque, NM, will also work on heliostats with its $4.3 million award, while Chatsworth, California, company SunTrough Energy, Inc., is to receive up to $4.5 million towards its efforts developing lighter, low-cost reflectors.

SENER Engineering and Systems, Inc., of San Francisco will gain up to $3.1 million towards its work on modular block-based energy storage systems. Terrafore, Inc., of Riverside, California, will also work on thermal storage systems with a $1.4 million award.

Up to $2.5 million will go to the University of South Florida to develop a thermal storage system based on materials that absorb heat when changing from a solid to a liquid, releasing heat when returning to a solid state.

And, Wilson TurboPower, Inc., of Woburn, MA, will receive up to $3.7 million to build a more compact and efficient CSP turbine power system.