CSP Science

The hotter solar cells become, the less efficient they are at converting sunlight to electricity, a problem that has long vexed the solar industry. Now, Stanford engineers have developed a transparent overlay that increases efficiency by cooling the cells even in full sunlight.

New CSP capacity is expected to dip in 2016 and bounce back in 2017 to resume steady growth over the next decade as national energy policies stabilise market conditions, according to the newly released CSP Today Markets Forecast Report: 2015-2025.

The Surface Engineering Division of the Bengaluru-based Indian National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) has developed a new sputtered absorber coating, which could be applied to 6" stainless steel tubes of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants once the technology has passed the laboratory stage. A Magnetron sputtering process is used to cover the surface with the TiAlN/TiAlON/Si3N4 tandem coating. 

Southern Research has signed a jointly funded cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy. This work is under the SunShot Initiative as part of the Concentrating Solar Power: Advanced Projects Offering Low LCOE Opportunities (CSP: APOLLO) funding program. The three-year project will support the scale-up and demonstration of an innovative thermochemical energy storage system (TCES) that will allow concentrating solar power (CSP) facilities to operate around the clock.