Concentrating Solar Power

Solar energy is a bountiful renewable energy resource: the energy in the sunlight that reaches Earth in an hour exceeds the energy consumed by all of humanity in a year. While the phrase “solar energy conversion” probably brings photovoltaic (PV) cells to mind first, PV is not the only option for generating electricity from sunlight. Another promising technology for solar energy conversion is solar–thermal conversion, commonly referred to as concentrating solar power (CSP). The first utility-scale CSP plants were constructed in the 1980s, but in the two decades that followed, CSP saw little expansion. More recent years, however, have seen a CSP renaissance due to unprecedented growth in the adoption of CSP.…

• MI
  Masdar Institute of Science and Technology

  Award: 02-MI-MI-CP-11-07633-GEN-G-00
• OO
  Office of Science

  Awards: DE-EE0005806, DE-AR0000181, DE-SC0001299, DE-FG02-09ER46577, DE-AR0000471