An Assessment of Solar Thermal Concentrator Research and Development

ABSTRACT:
Concentrator research and development has been an integral part of the solar thermal technology program since its beginning. Within the central and distributed receiver programs, a considerable amount of research and development has been successfully concluded: over twenty-five line focus

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(mostly parabolic trough) designs, thirteen heliostat designs, and eight parabolic dish designs have been fabricated and tested under Department of Energy sponsorship; mass-production costs have been estimated for several of these designs; and materials and components research is under way to identify areas for both cost and performance improvements. An overall assessment of this work has recently been performed to determine future research and development needs. This report describes the results of this assessment and presents recommendations for future concentrator research and development.

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