As part of a $70 million multi-year DOE Generation 3 CSP Systems (Gen3 CSP) program that began in 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a Phase III, $25 million award to Sandia National Laboratories to build, test, and demonstrate a next-generation Concentrating Solar Thermal Power (CSP) plant at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The award was announced on March 25, 2022, during a “100% Clean” webinar hosted by DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
The objectives of the Gen 3 Particle Pilot Plant (G3P3) project are to design, construct, and operate an integrated system that de-risks a next-generation, particle-based concentrating solar power (CSP) technology to produce clean, utility-scale electricity with long-duration energy storage. The multi-M WtG3P3 system will use the existing field of heliostats, or mirrors, at the NSTTF to concentrate sunlight on to a particle receiver that: 1) heats particles to over 700 °C, 2) enables at least six hours of particle-based energy storage, and 3) heats a working fluid (e.g., sCO2 or air) to ≥ 700°C while demonstrating the ability to meet cost and performance goals.
G3P3 field testing
In Phases 1 and 2, Sandia successfully de-risked key elements of the proposed Gen 3 Particle Pilot Plant (G3P3) by improving the design, operation, and performance of key particle component technologies including the receiver, storage bins, particle-to-sCO2 heat exchanger, particle lift, and data acquisition and controls. Modeling and testing of critical components led to optimized designs that meet desired performance metrics. Detailed drawings, piping and instrumentation diagrams, and process flow diagrams were generated for the integrated system, and structural analyses of the assembled tower structure were performed to demonstrate compliance with relevant codes and standards. Instrumentation and control systems of key subsystems were also demonstrated. Together with Bridgers & Paxton, Bohannan Huston Inc., and Sandia Facilities, a 100% G3P3 tower design package with stamped engineering drawings suitable for construction bid was developed.
HelioCon
The Heliostat Consortium for Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power, or HelioCon, was established by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office to improve CSP components for the concentrated solar-thermal power industry. Member organizations include the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, or NREL (lead), Sandia National Laboratories, and the Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute (ASTRI). Together, these organizations perform research and development activities to validate, commercialize, and deploy low-cost and high-performance heliostats. The goal of these activities is to optimize operations and maintenance for concentrating solar power and concentrating solar-thermal applications.
HelioCon objectives include:
Developing strategic core capabilities and infrastructure to support high-performance heliostat manufacturing, validation, and optimization and facilitate industry’s ability to design, manufacture, install, and operate central receiver heliostat fields with higher technical and economic performance
Ensuring that these capabilities are readily available to industry, meeting their needs
Funding research on new technologies with significant potential to improve heliostat field economic performance
Forming U.S. centers of excellence focused on heliostat technology to restore U.S. leadership in heliostat research, development, and validation
Promoting workforce development by encouraging student internships and postdoctoral positions, the formation of a HelioCon early career scientist group to promote networking, and highlighting existing training and educational programs in heliostat design, production, and operation.
In order to remove commercial risks, improve economic competitiveness, and attract additional investors, HelioCon’s first step was to conduct a roadmapping study to identify and address technical and nontechnical gaps that limit the development of low-cost, high-performance heliostat technologies with minimized annual operation and maintenance expenses.
