Secretary Chu Announces up to $62 Million for Concentrating Solar Power R&D
This funding [for the next 5 years] will support improvements in CSP systems, components, and thermal energy storage to accelerate the market-readiness of this renewable energy technology.
Among the selected projects:

Abengoa Solar, Inc. – Lakewood, CO – up to $10.6 million
Abengoa Solar will develop a new power tower technology that captures heat in a high-temperature receiver at the top of an elevated tower. The system will focus the sun’s rays to the tower using a 360-degree, surround reflector field on the ground and collect the heat in a salt fluid, which is used to make steam and drive a turbine. The system will also incorporate a thermal storage system to allow it to operate for a period when the sun isn’t shining. The ability to operate at higher temperatures will translate into more energy produced with the same size power plant. Abengoa is currently the only company with a full-scale, operational power tower, and thus proving this technology could help it reach commercial maturity.

eSolar, Inc. – Pasadena, CA – up to $10.8 million
eSolar will design, build, and test a CSP power plant system with fundamentally new components. Instead of one central tower and receiver, the plant will employ multiple, modular towers. Using reflective mirrors, the sun’s radiation will heat a liquid salt within each receiver. A specialized molten salt transport system will then move the high-temperature fluid to a molten-salt steam generator that produces electricity. The system will also feature a thermal storage system. Eventually, this technology could deliver lower-cost solar energy at a utility scale.

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne – Canoga Park, CA – up to $10.2 million
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne will build on and advance the current solar power tower plant design. The project will explore new materials for the central power tower receiver. A novel thermal storage system will be developed and used, representing the first time such technology has been integrated into a CSP plant design. A more efficient power cycle will help produce more electricity. These improvements will all be made in the hopes of driving down the cost of solar energy.