Updated by Staff

GOLDEN - The National Renewable Energy Lab is testing Alcoa’s new CSP parabolic trough system for efficiency and to evaluate its structural performance. NREL has installed one of Alcoa’s systems for the round of tests, which follows similar tests carried out at the manufacturer’s Technical Center outside of Pittsburgh, PA.

Results of the  project, which is being partially funded by a  $2.1 million grant from the Department of Energy, should be revealed sometime in April or May, followed by a round of large-scale testing. Alcoa hopes to make CSP a viable competitor in the U.S. to the glass  mirrors currently used in commercial systems to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto receivers, which collect the solar energy and convert it to heat,  and then electricity. Alcoa’s product uses more durable highly-reflective aluminium mirrors, and the company says it can enable high-volume manufacturing techniques to lower installation costs.

“We understand the end-customers’ need to lower the capital investment in these systems in order to lower the cost of energy,” said Dr. Eric F. M. Winter, Alcoa’s Director of Development Laboratories.

“After listening to numerous industry experts, our multi-faceted team combined its materials knowledge with design, manufacturing and engineered finishes capabilities to develop a system solution that enables manufacturers to more easily scale up to meet the growing demand for this solar technology.”