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Heliostats reflecting a bright future for concentrating solar thermal.

Report cover shows back of heliostat over graphic background

News

Tuning of Real-Time Optimization of Heliostat Concentrated Solar Power

This study proposes a method to refine the Real-Time Optimization (RTO) algorithm for better stability and quick convergence, especially when the shape of the sunspot is uncertain.

Read the full study here.

Report cover shows back of heliostat over graphic background

News

HelioCon announces publication of 2024 Annual Report

The Heliostat Consortium’s 2024 annual report details new advances in an array of technologies to improve the cost and performance of heliostats. "HelioCon has made tremendous progress on developing, maturing, and validating third-party evaluation and testing capabilities to make them ready for industry," said Guangdong Zhu, HelioCon executive director. "This is exactly what the industry needs right now." 

The report also highlights the growth of the HelioCon community over the past year and the consortium’s plans for 2025. Read the 2024 HelioCon annual report and learn more about how HelioCon is driving solar innovation and building the CSP community. 

Read the news release. 

Parthiv Kurup (NREL)

Featured Researcher

Parthiv Kurup (NREL)

Parthiv Kurup is a Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) specialist in the Accelerated Deployment and Decision Support (ADDS) Center, at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). He has been involved in the Concentrating Solar Thermal (CST) field for the last 12 years. With HelioCon he has worked closely with Randy Borst in the Advanced Manufacturing Task, is a technical monitor for a Request for Proposal (RFP) project where Solar Dynamics are developing and testing an advanced heliostat, and has worked with others in the HelioCon team to develop CSP costs e.g., heliostats.

Recent Publications 

Past Featured Researchers

The Heliostat Consortium (HelioCon) supports research, development, validation, commercialization, and deployment of low-cost and high-performance heliostats.

HelioCon Image Gallery



The National Solar Thermal Test Facility at Sandia National Laboratories. Photo credit: Sandia National Laboratories
The National Solar Thermal Test Facility at Sandia National Laboratories. Photo credit: Sandia National Laboratories
The National Solar Thermal Test Facility at Sandia National Laboratories. Photo credit: Sandia National Laboratories
Dr. Margaret Gordon inspects heliostats at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility. Photo credit: Sandia National Laboratories
The NREL team gave presentations at the 2022 SolarPACES conference in Albuquerque, N.M.
Dr. Rebecca Mitchell next to her presenation at the 2022 SolarPACES conference in Albuquerque, N.M. Photo credit: NREL
HelioCon at Workshop on Solar Energy, Aug 24, 2022 in San Diego, CA
Crescent Dunes plant waking up in the morning
Crescent Dunes heliostats defrosting in the morning sun
The NREL drone team collecting data at Crescent Dunes plants
Tucker Farrell getting ready to launch the drone to take pictures of far-field heliostats at Crescent Dunes plant
Devon Kesseli measuring the reflectance of a Crescent Dunes heliostat
Rebecca Mitchell radioing into the control room at Crescent Dunes plant
NREL’s Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (CSP) team recently hosted a group from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) team for a tour of facilities at the NREL Flatirons campus in August 2023.
NREL’s Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (CSP) team recently hosted a group from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) team for a tour of facilities at the NREL Flatirons campus in August 2023.


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