SolarReserve to Get US’ $2 Mn SETO Award to Advance CSP Research

The company was selected as a part of the Energy Department’s FY2018 SETO funding program, an effort to invest in new projects that will lower solar electricity costs and support a growing solar workforce.

Solar power projects developer SolarReserve was selected to receive a USD 2 million award from the US Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) to advance concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) research and development.

The company was selected as a part of the Energy Department’s FY2018 SETO funding program, an effort to invest in new projects that will lower solar electricity costs and support a growing solar workforce.

It’s project is to develop a best-in-class next generation heliostat design, optimized for CSP technology projections of the next decade.

Commenting on the achievement, SolarReserve, CEO, Kevin Smith said, “We are excited to participate in this initiative and aggressively drive innovation that will lower delivered cost of solar electricity that has the added benefit of round-the-clock availability through energy storage.”

“Through this award, we can develop breakthrough solutions for cost-effective sustainable energy now and for the generations to come – with the goal of fostering new industries and creating thousands of US jobs,” Smith added.

The company continually performs research and development in all areas of CSP technology, including heliostat development. Heliostats are the dual-axis solar tracking mirrors that concentrate and focus the sun’s energy onto an energy collection receiver atop a central tower.

The SETO award supports the company’s development of a next generation heliostat system that aims to make substantial progress in cost reduction and performance for the concentrating system in a solar power tower, aligned to the timing goals of the Energy Department’s Generation 3 Concentrating Solar Power Systems (Gen3 CSP) program.