Solar tower supermoon
The November 2016 supermoon looms over the National Solar Thermal Test Facility in the early evening at Sandia Labs in Albuquerque, NM.
November's supermoon — a term used to describe a full moon when it is at its perigee, or closest point to Earth during the lunar orbit — is especially “super” for two reasons: it is the only supermoon of 2016 to be completely full, and it is the closest moon to Earth since 1948, appearing 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter.
The 200-foot solar tower uses 218 mirrors to focus the sun’s rays on experimental receivers that capture and store heat to generate electricity – even at night. A new project being tested here is called a “falling particle receiver,” which is designed to lower the cost and improve the efficiencies of solar energy systems. It works by dropping sand-like ceramic particles through a beam of concentrated sunlight, capturing and storing the heated particles in an insulated tank. The technology can capture and store heat at very high temperatures without breaking down, unlike conventional molten salt systems. The project was recently recognized by R&D Magazine, winning a R&D 100 award — also known as the “Oscars of Innovation” — for being one of the year’s top technologies with promising commercial potential.
Learn more about the supermoon at bit.ly/2fWn80l.
(Photo by Randy Montoya)
Solar tower supermoon
The November 2016 supermoon looms over the National Solar Thermal Test Facility in the early evening at Sandia Labs in Albuquerque, NM.
November's supermoon — a term used to describe a full moon when it is at its perigee, or closest point to Earth during the lunar orbit — is especially “super” for two reasons: it is the only supermoon of 2016 to be completely full, and it is the closest moon to Earth since 1948, appearing 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter.
The 200-foot solar tower uses 218 mirrors to focus the sun’s rays on experimental receivers that capture and store heat to generate electricity – even at night. A new project being tested here is called a “falling particle receiver,” which is designed to lower the cost and improve the efficiencies of solar energy systems. It works by dropping sand-like ceramic particles through a beam of concentrated sunlight, capturing and storing the heated particles in an insulated tank. The technology can capture and store heat at very high temperatures without breaking down, unlike conventional molten salt systems. The project was recently recognized by R&D Magazine, winning a R&D 100 award — also known as the “Oscars of Innovation” — for being one of the year’s top technologies with promising commercial potential.
Learn more about the supermoon at bit.ly/2fWn80l.
(Photo by Randy Montoya)