CSP technologies concentrate the sun's energy and capture that energy as heat, which then drives an engine or turbine to produce electrical power. CSP plants can include low-cost energy storage, allowing them to provide electricity even when the sun isn't shining.
Of the 13 awardees, three will evaluate the feasibility of a complete CSP baseload power system and support development of prototype systems for field testing. Agengoa Solar, Inc. and eSolar, Inc. will investigate molten salt as a working fluid with thermal storage capabilities for solar power towers, which use a field of flat mirrors, called heliostats, to concentrate the sun's heat on a central tower. The eSolar project will employ multiple modular towers. Molten salt was tested by DOE at Solar Two, a demonstration solar power tower project that was operated in Southern California in the late 1990's. In addition, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne will investigate a novel approach to thermal storage for solar power tower facilities.
The other 10 projects will study concepts and devices that could be part of a CSP baseload system. These include a thermal energy storage system based on a phase change from solid to liquid; a sulfur-based energy storage system that uses a chemical reaction to store energy; optimization of heliostat arrays to drive down up-front costs of solar power tower plants; a modular solar power tower system that can be partially assembled in a factory; large-scale thermal storage for use with solar dishes; next-generation, low-cost reflectors with increased reflectivity and durability; and low-cost approaches to parabolic trough systems, which use long lines of trough-shaped mirrors to concentrate the sun's heat on a tube that carries a heat-transfer fluid. See the DOE press release and the CSP section of DOE's Solar Energy Technologies Web site.
DOE Offers $60 Million for Small Business Clean Energy Projects
DOE announced that $60 million in Recovery Act funding is available to continue supporting innovative small business research and development leading to deployment of clean energy technologies. This announcement starts the second phase of DOE's Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program.
In the first phase, DOE awarded 125 grants of up to $150,000 to 107 small advanced technology firms across the US, competitively selected from 950 applicants. The second phase will provide continued support to first-phase awardees that have demonstrated successful results with their new technologies and can now show their potential to meet market needs.
DOE expects to make 58 awards of up to $1 million for SBIR awardees and up to $750,000 for STIR awardees. Applications are due by June 7. See the DOE press release, the funding opportunity announcement on Grants.gov and FedConnect, the SBIR/STTR Programs Web site, the article from the EERE Network News on the first-phase awardees, and the list of companies selected in the first phase (PDF 80 KB).
DOE, USDA Offer $30 Million for Biomass R&D
DOE and the USDA jointly announced $33 million in funding for biomass research and development. The funding will support projects and processes that produce advanced biofuels, bioenergy, and high-value biobased products.
