CSP

Concentrated solar power (CSP) plants with thermal energy storage (TES) systems face significant material challenges. Specifically, industry-standard 347H austenitic stainless steel used in the manufacture of molten salt tanks can be subject to severe stress relaxation cracking (SRC). The results of a consortium project could have an answer for the problem. The findings suggest that […]

The spectrum of geothermal technologies is quickly evolving. This supplement to POWER’s April 2023 feature, “Startups Are Shaking Up Geothermal Power’s Potential,” briefly explains the differences between some engineered geothermal systems. Conventional geothermal energy is largely produced by hydrothermal systems, which consist of hot water circulated in deep-seated permeable rocks. Resource temperature ranges from high (greater […]

Pakistan Begins Commercial Operation of 1.3-GW Coal Plant. Pakistan on Feb. 7 began commercial operation of a 1.3-GW coal-fired power plant in the Thar Desert in Sindh province, southern Pakistan. The project

The Department of Energy (DOE) has broken ground on the Generation 3 Particle Pilot Plant (G3P3), a novel concentrating solar power (CSP) facility at Sandia National Laboratory that will use sand-like ceramic particles instead of molten salt to produce and store high-temperature energy. When completed in 2024, the “multi-megawatt” solar thermal pilot project will utilize an existing […]

A California developer of concentrated solar power (CSP) systems has announced an innovation that it says combines the company’s technologies to turn existing oil wells into energy storage sites that can provide clean energy. Hyperlight Energy on Feb. 24 said it was launching Tectonic Sun, an electricity generation technology that when paired with the company’s […]

The 50-MW Delingha concentrated solar power tower plant located on the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau in China was developed, built, and continues to be refined by a company dedicated to solar tower technology

One of the world’s first molten salt tower concentrated solar power (CSP) projects that uses a “Stellio” heliostat was grid-connected at the end of December in China’s Xinjiang province near the

A greenfield concentrated solar power (CSP) project with novel parabolic trough technology and a molten storage system has revitalized a remote region. But the project is also laudable for its social

ABB is supporting the Chinese government in its efforts to produce emissions-free electricity, delivering automation control solutions at the country’s first two concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. Building on the successful delivery of power at the first 50 megawatt CSP in Delingha with China General Nuclear Power Group in late 2018, ABB has been awarded […]

A 10-day reliability test for the 150-MW Noor Ouarzazate III thermoelectric solar plant in Morocco has wrapped up, demonstrating that the project can provide continuous rated power even in the absence of

Synchronization to the grid is one of the last steps before the plant starts commercial operation reassuring Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) as an efficient solution in the renewable energy sector with its high efficiency and performance to deliver energy to the South African grid during the evening peak. Johannesburg (South Africa), 26 November 2018 – […]

China completed its first large commercial-scale parabolic-trough concentrated solar power (CSP) plant at the end of June. The 50-MW Delingha project built by CGN New Energy, a subsidiary of China General

Dubai’s government on September 16 said its state energy utility has awarded a $3.9 billion contract for construction of a 700-MW solar power plant at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The government said the project includes an 850-foot-tall tower that will receive focused sunlight, the world’s tallest such structure in a solar […]

Owner/operator: SolarReserve Three-and-a-half hours north of Las Vegas, in a rocky, desolate stretch of Nevada desert, an innovative solar-storage plant has nearly completed a year of commercial operations. It also may have delivered proof of round-the-clock dispatchable solar energy. The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, a concentrating solar power (CSP) plant built by Santa Monica, […]

Dreams of a future of round-the-clock dispatchable solar energy may have become reality at the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project in Nevada.

You can’t spell C-S-P without S-P-A-I-N. Though there are now many nations with concentrating solar power (CSP) plants in operation, and nations with larger ones than Spain possesses, it’s difficult to

The global concentrating solar power (CSP) sector, criticized by some observers for high costs and uncertain technology, is poised for significant growth and a key role in the power mix—provided markets are structured to properly value their ability to store and dispatch renewable energy, three senior CSP executives said on Sept. 16. Speaking at the […]

An interdisciplinary study led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Energy Initiative concludes, among other things, that “state renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requirements should be replaced by a uniform nationwide program.” The report—released on May 5—focuses on the future of solar energy, suggesting that a massive expansion in solar capacity to “multi-terawatt scale” is […]

Everyone loves efficiencies. Combining generation technologies can create a plant that’s more than the sum of its parts, but engineering challenges mean these projects are not for the faint of heart. When you think of “hybrids” these days, your first thought is probably of automobiles. But hybrids—hybrid power plants, that is—are starting to emerge in […]

The 2014 POWER Plant of the Year makes history, both as a project and as our cover story. The Plant of the Year award goes to the most interesting, usually new, plant in the previous year. Sometimes it’s a

The era of Big Solar has arrived, and at the moment there are none bigger than Ivanpah. For overcoming numerous obstacles to build the world’s largest solar thermal plant, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is awarded POWER’s 2014 Plant of the Year Award. When the 392-MW Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in Nipton, Calif., […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) released a report on May 21 highlighting progress at five concentrating solar power (CSP) projects in the southwestern U.S. In the report, “2014: The Year of Concentrating Solar Power,” three DOE-supported technologies are featured: parabolic trough, power tower, and thermal storage. The DOE has helped finance the large-scale deployment of […]

As solar technologies, both solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) are often discussed collectively, along with solar thermal and solar fuels. But the difference between the two power