On November 22nd, 2011 Google Inc. (Mountain View, California, U.S.) announced that it has shut down its Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal (RE<C) initiative, including its research to develop improved concentrating solar power (CSP) designs.

The RE<C team has published its key findings, which were largely focused on cost reductions. The team notes that at this stage of development other institutions are better positioned than it is to advance CSP technology.

"We believe that by demonstrating this, there are other people who are going to want to adopt some of this technology and make solar energy cheaper," stated Google RE<C Engineer Ross Koningstein.

Team to publish technical papers

Among the team's findings are that lower cost materials and smarter controls can improve heliostat performance, that alternative engine designs exist that reduce water usage, and that systems approaches work best when optimizing CSP plants for cost reduction.

Google's states that the team will publish several technical papers with detailed findings.

Google began the RE<C project in 2007, and has also funded solar projects, including investing USD 168 million in BrightSource Energy Inc.'s (Oakland, California, U.S.) Ivanpah CSP plant.

New heliostat designs, Brayton engine

Among other focuses, the team worked on a redesign of the heliostat structures that concentrate light onto a central receiver in solar power tower plants.

RE<C engineers state that they attempted to reduce materials costs associated with the large, heavy mounting systems for heliostats, using the structural strength of the glass reflectors as an asset.

The RE<C team also identified the Brayton engine, a type of jet engine that uses solar energy to heat air and does not require spray cooling, as a means significantly reduce water usage. The team notes that use of this engine may reduce operating costs as well.

2011-11-25| Courtesy: Google Inc. | solarserver.com © Heindl Server GmbH

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