National Solar Thermal Test Facility

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CSP seminar series session focuses on bulk solids handling
News Article, January 8, 2025 • Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility welcomes Greg Mehos, director of Greg Mehos & Associates LLC, for the next session of the Concentrating Solar Power Seminar Series. “Storage and Flow of Bulk Solids,” will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. MST to 11:00 a.m. MST. When compared to...

HelioCon Highlight: Solar Dynamics, NSTTF to demonstrate off-the-shelf wireless control system
News Article, September 6, 2023 • Earlier this year the Heliostat Consortium, co-led by Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), announced seven awards related to a request for proposals (RFP) targeting the U.S. Department of Energy’s goals for heliostat cost reduction, sustained multifaceted innovation, and improved solar field performance. Sandia’s National Solar...
Two technologist stand atop the solar tower with the helioststa and control room behind them

HelioCon’s latest request for proposals supports widespread use of concentrating solar power
News Article, January 29, 2024 • The Heliostat Consortium has released its next request for proposals focused on lowering the costs of heliostat technologies, improving performance, and creating new heliostat industry opportunities. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the consortium consists of National Renewable Energy Laboratory (lead) and partnering organizations Sandia National Laboratories and the...

National Solar Thermal Test Facility and University of Arizona partner for HelioCon project
News Article, January 31, 2024 • Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility is partnering with the University of Arizona's Professor J. Roger Angel for one of four projects the Heliostat Consortium awarded last year. The project, “Twisting Heliostats with Closed Loop Tracking,” targets the U.S. Department of Energy’s goals for heliostat cost reduction, sustained multifaceted innovation,...

National Solar Thermal Test Facility prepares for new tower construction
News Article, January 23, 2023 • Construction on the new tower at Sandia National Laboratories’ National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) is planned to begin Feb. 16, 2023, with a groundbreaking ceremony to take place at the facility. The tower is part of the Phase III, $25 million award announced by The U.S. Department of Energy...

National Solar Thermal Test Facility to take part in American Solar Energy Society Virtual Tour
News Article, September 30, 2022 • Sandia National Laboratories’ (Sandia) Renewable Energy programs will participate in the American Solar Energy Society’s National Solar Tour Oct. 1-2, 2022. The largest grassroots solar, renewable energy, and sustainable living event in the nation will offer a glimpse into the renewable energy research and development taking place at Sandia, and...

OpenCSP, a new platform for open code and data, launches during SolarPACES 2024
News Article, October 10, 2024 • Sandia National Laboratories’ Concentrating Solar Power program recently launched OpenCSP, a collaborative environment for CSP code and data development. The new, open-source platform is comprised of source code, applications and data to enable collaborative development for the CSP community worldwide. The platform’s launch was announced this week during SolarPACES 2024...
heliostats reflectng sunset at NSTTF

Sandia solar facilities to host American Solar Energy Society conference tour
News Article, March 25, 2022 • The 51st Annual National Solar Conference will be held June 21-24, 2022, in Albuquerque, NM, at the University of New Mexico campus and online. Hosted by the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and the New Mexico Solar Energy Association (NMSEA) this year’s technical sessions will include topics such as: Grid...

Sandia’s concentrating solar quarterly seminar addresses challenges associated with surfaces at high temperatures
News Article, June 22, 2022 • Sandia National Laboratories’ Concentrating Solar Power Program will present its third quarterly concentrating solar seminar, “Textured Surfaces for Applications in Concentrating Solar Power,” on June 23, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. MDT. Professor Ranga Pitchumani, of the Advanced Materials and Technologies Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering...

Successful G3P3 receiver test is a step towards commercial scalability
News Article, September 18, 2024 • Researchers at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility have successfully tested the Generation 3 Particle Pilot Plant’s falling particle receiver. This new receiver is double the size of its predecessor and operates at two megawatts of concentrated radiative energy. The test represents an important step toward the commercial scalability of...

There goes the sun: annular solar eclipse
News Article, October 20, 2023 • Glimpse phases of the annular solar eclipse as it passes Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility in Albuquerque on Oct. 14. The first photograph includes multiple exposures as the sun and moon traveled left to right, as well as an exposure without the eclipse. The second photograph comprises multiple exposures...
a mirrored heliostat reflects the phases of the 2023 solar eclipse.

Using the power of the sun to roast green chile
News Article, July 7, 2022 • Greener approach to a New Mexican staple opens possibilities for sustainable food roasting Sandia National Laboratories engineer Kenneth Armijo, who grew up on a chile farm in Sabinal, located between Albuquerque and Socorro, New Mexico, thought there was a “greener” way to roast green chile. The results of his experiments...