The falling price of photovoltaics (PV) has put many concentrating solar power (CSP) projects on the chopping block. Last year, Pike Research noted that 6.9 gigawatts (GW) of CSP capacity had been awarded, but just 1.5 GW were under construction. (CSP plants backed by federal loan guarantees, like the Mojave Solar Project, are still moving forward.)

To help lower the cost of CSP technologies, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced two new opportunities for solar energy researchers as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SunShot Initiative, including up to $10 million in funding to support the development of advanced heat transfer fluids for concentrating solar power (CSP) systems. The DOE hopes that this research will help drive down the cost of solar power, accelerate the commercialization of CSP technology, and prepare a new generation of scientists and engineers to become solar industry leaders.

image via U.S. Department of Energy

The most common types of CSP plants use mirrors to focus sunlight, heat a fluid, and generate steam. The steam then spins a turbine to generate electricity. The SunShot Initiative aims to dramatically decrease the total costs of solar energy by 75 percent before the end of the decade.

In the case of CSP technology, the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative: High Operating Temperature Fluids funding opportunity will focus specifically on increasing the efficiency of CSP technology by developing heat transfer fluids that are more stable than current technologies at temperatures greater than 800 degrees Celsius.

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