HelioCon: A roadmap for advanced heliostat technologies for concentrating solar power

• Published in: Solar energy Vol. 264; no. C; p. 111917
• Main Authors: Zhu, Guangdong, Augustine, Chad, Mitchell, Rebecca, Muller, Matthew, Kurup, Parthiv, Zolan, Alexander, Yellapantula, Shashank, Brost, Randy, Armijo, Kenneth, Sment, Jeremy, Schaller, Rebecca, Gordon, Margaret, Collins, Mike, Coventry, Joe, Pye, John, Cholette, Michael, Picotti, Giovanni, Arjomandi, Maziar, Emes, Matthew, Potter, Daniel, Rae, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2023; Elsevier
• ISSN: 0038-092X; 1471-1257
• DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2023.111917

Heliostat-based concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) systems can offer immense potential to provide low-cost, dispatchable renewable thermal and electrical energy to help achieve 100% decarbonized energy infrastructure in the United States. Heliostats are a major determinant of both capital cost and performance of state-of-the-art commercial molten salt towers and Generation 3 CSP systems. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) launched the Heliostat Consortium (HelioCon), a five-year initiative to advance heliostat technologies. The HelioCon mission is threefold: (1) establish strategic core testing and modeling capabilities and infrastructure at national labs; (2) support heliostat technology development in relevant industries; and (3) serve as a central repository to integrate industry, academia, and other stakeholders for heliostat technology research, development, validation, and deployment. In this Perspective, HelioCon presents a roadmapping study on advancing heliostat technologies, intended as a central reference for the entire CSP community.