The Department of Energy’s Heliostat Consortium is providing as much as $3 million in funding for tasks that might lower the cost of heliostat technologies, a part of concentrating solar-thermal energy programs.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory stated Tuesday {that a} request for proposals was issued in December for the hassle, soliciting tasks that help any of the next six topical areas of analysis: superior manufacturing; metrology and requirements; elements and controls; discipline deployment; techno-economic evaluation; and sources, coaching and schooling.

The topical areas of analysis have been outlined in a roadmap published by HelioCon in 2022, which was accompanied by an RFP for an preliminary batch of analysis tasks that additionally sought to advance heliostat expertise. That solicitation resulted within the award in 2023 of $3.5 million for seven tasks.

The present solicitation will stay open till Feb. 16.

“The projects that result from this RFP will enable widespread deployment of concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) to decarbonize the electricity grid and energy systems,” HelioCon Executive Director and NREL Senior Researcher Guangdong Zhu stated. He added that the ensuing tasks will assist the U.S. obtain its 2050 decarbonization targets and develop the workforce required by the heliostat business.

HelioCon is led by the DOE and NREL and is supported by companions at Sandia National Laboratories and the Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute.