The Department of Energy has announced the winners of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for Solar Thermal resarch and development. Solar Thermal technology is receiving 59% or approximately $10.1 million dollars of the $17 million of project funding announced on October 8th.
The solar thermal projects receiving funding are:
Dual Purpose Advanced HTF with Enhanced Thermal Properties and Thermal Energy Storage Capabilities
This project will develop engineered nanoparticles and incorporate them into heat transfer fluids for improved thermal storage for CSP systems. ($1,000,000) – Argonne National Laboratory
Hybrid Organic Silicone Heat Transfer Fluids Utilizing Endothermic Chemical Reactions for Latent Heat Storage
This project will develop silicone-based heat transfer fluids for CSP systems. These fluids are expected to have improved thermodynamic efficiencies compared to conventional fluids and be stable at temperatures approaching 600°C. If successful, a 20%-33% cost reduction could be realized. ($966,957) – Los Alamos National Laboratory
Nanomaterials for Thermal Energy Storage in Concentrating Solar Power Plants
The goal of this project is to develop new nanomaterials and encapsulation strategies that could lead to a two to four fold improvement in the thermal energy storage density for CSP systems. These nanostructures are expected to be cost-competitive and show improved performance over conventional phase change systems. ($1,000,000) – National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Advanced Thermal Energy Storage and Solar-Field Test and Evaluation Facilities
This project will enhance and expedite manufacturing, testing, and evaluation of advanced CSP technologies by upgrading and adding equipment and facilities used to characterize new optical reflector and absorber materials, heat transfer fluids, storage fluids, and storage materials, as well as storage and collector systems and subsystems. These testing capabilities will support the U.S. solar industry in making CSP technologies cost-competitive for intermediate- and base-load power generation. ($4,398,218) – National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Evaluation of Polyaromatic Naphthalene Derivatives as Solar HTF
This project will develop polyaromatic hydrocarbons as heat transfer fluids for improved thermodynamic efficiency in CSP systems. These fluids are expected to be stable to temperatures approaching 600°C, have good thermal characteristics, and be readily available. ($935,000) – Oakridge National Laboratory
Thermochemical Energy Storage for Stirling Concentrating Solar Power
This project will develop thermochemical energy storage for dish-based CSP systems. If successful, this could double the number of hours these systems can generate electricity and result in a 20% reduction in the cost of solar-generated electricity, making them competitive for intermediate-load power generation. ($747,974) – Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Thermally-stable Ionic Liquid Carriers for Nanoparticle-based Advanced Heat Transfer CSP
This project will enhance the heat transfer and solar thermal energy collection of CSP systems by dispersing small volume percentages of nanoparticles into the ionic liquid carriers. If successful, this could result in a 10%-40% improvement in thermal conductivity. ($1,005,000)- Savannah River National Laboratory
Tags: CHU, concentrated solar, DOE, US
VULVOX Inc’s breakthrough collectors will be able to generate more than double the amount of power generated by current solar power tower plants! The Abengoa solar power tower in Spain is currently the worlds biggest. If it is retrofitted with VULVOX hybrid solar energy collectors it will generate 46.5 megawatts, not 20 as it does currently.
The dual solar thermal-photovoltaic system will wrest approximately twice as much power from an area as regular solar thermal or photovoltaic energy systems. Our technology can be used to retrofit existing parabolic troughs and solar power towers to increase their efficiency. Besides applications at utility scale solar power plants that are contributing electricity to the California power grid, they will also have an important advantage in the upcoming industry of rooftop solar power. Apartment buildings, offices and industrial buildings all have flat roofs that can accommodate our solar power systems and the greater efficiency of dual thermal-photovoltaic energy generation systems will make it cost competitive with other generation systems. Between 2009 and 2012 it is expected that the amount of installed CSP solar thermal power in the United States will grow 14 times!
The Vulvox collectors will not depend upon complicated advances in quantum or solid state physics. Our novel combination photovoltaic-solar thermal collectors will achieve the unprecedented efficiencies predicted here by means of relatively simple modifications to solar energy equipment; modifications that can be developed at a moderate cost.
The Vulvox solar system will generate higher power levels than competing parabolic troughs and solar power towers, while retaining all of the storage capabilities of solar thermal power.
Besides the inherent efficiency advantages of this collection system, we are sure we can add other modifications that will increase energy collection and electricity generation beyond those efficiencies. Modifications to increase the heat flow rate of the thermal collectors are an example.
Every time a photovoltaic panel system is upgraded and increases in power we can substitute it for a lower power panels used in previous “builds.” and the higher power panels can be used in upgraded combination PV-solar thermal collectors with higher efficiency. Also, every time solar thermal systems are upgraded they can be combined with the latest practical photovoltaic collectors to keep the next generation combination systems cost competitive and to keep their efficiency higher than all other collection systems.
Contact us for more information.
HTTP://VULVOX.TRIPOD.COM
PROTN7@ATT.NET
What about a heat recovery ventilator will replace the moist air with fresh air from outside that is dry. This happens using a fan to create a constant slow incoming flow of outdoor air while concurrently having an outward flow of indoor air that has become stale. In essence, fresh air is in constant supply as the allergens and other pollutants are regularly being escorted out.
I was looking for solar panel related info this was helpful
Can I use your article in my class?
Greetings, I enjoy your blog. This is a cool site and I wanted to post a little note to let you know, great job! Thanks Katy
Louis Vuitton
vuitton
Thanks for the article post. Much obliged.
Hello, I discovered your weblog in a new directory of blogs. I dont know how your weblog came up, must have been a typo, Your weblog looks excellent. Have a wonderful day.
Fantastic article post.Really looking forward to read more. Really Cool.