National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Concentrating Solar Power Research

Projects

NREL's R&D projects in concentrating solar power focus on parabolic trough solar technology and advanced concentrating solar power technologies. We also support the U.S. Department of Energy in its concentrating solar power deployment efforts (PDF 361 KB). Download Adobe Reader.

Parabolic Trough Solar Technology

Parabolic trough solar technology is a proven, robust, and reliable power source for large, utility-scale power plants. In addition to proven performance, the main advantages of parabolic troughs include:

• Manufacturing simplicity
• Use of standard equipment and improvements
• Improvement in cost effectiveness
• Low technical and financial risk to the investor.

Despite its advantages, parabolic trough solar technology is not yet cost competitive in today's energy market. However, the technology has great potential for cost reduction. NREL works not only to improve parabolic trough technology but also to increase its cost effectiveness through the following R&D projects:

Parabolic trough solar field technology
Parabolic trough thermal energy storage technology
Parabolic trough solar power plant technology
Parabolic trough systems integration

Advanced Concentrating Solar Power Technologies

NREL's research and development in advanced concentrating solar power technologies includes the following crosscutting projects that aren't tied to a single concentrating solar power technology:

Advanced optical materials for concentrating solar power
Concentrating photovoltaic technology

Concentrating Solar Power System Deployment

NREL currently supports the following U.S. Department of Energy concentrating solar power system deployment efforts:

Southwest Concentrating Solar Power 1000-MW Initiative
USA Trough Initiative