Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems are considered a promising solar power technology for large-scale power generation. When CSP is coupled with thermal energy storage (TES), it is capable of producing constant power (base load) for up to 24 hours a day, making it well suited for integration to the electric grid.

In recognition of the increasingly important role CSP will play in achieving the UAE's renewable energy target, the Masdar Institute Solar Platform (MISP) was launched in 2015, and joined Photovoltaic Test Centre as part of the Masdar Solar Hub – the first independent solar testing and R&D hub for PV and solar thermal technologies jointly managed by Masdar and the Khalifa University of Science and Technology. 

Click to watch the video on Masdar Solar Hub

As a unique CSP and TES research facility that enables researchers to demonstrate and validate novel CSP-related systems in desert harsh environment, MISP is launched to spur the development of CSP and TES technologies. 

The 20-meter high tower is surrounded by a solar field of 33 heliostat mirrors in three concentric rings, which adjust their angle to track the sun as it moves across the sky, and direct the reflected light to the top of the tower. Lining the top of the tower is a 45-mirror array which redirects the light from the heliostats toward a receiver at the tower's base.

In conventional CSP tower systems, the light is concentrated on a receiver at the top of the tower. However, the MISP's beam-down tower concentrates the light on a ground receiver, which is perfectly configured and convenient for research purposes.

The facility is also being used to test reflector technologies, absorber tubes, heat transfer fluids, mirrors and a variety of components used in the CSP industry.

By contributing to the development of industrial benchmarks to ensure novel TES systems are technologically feasible on a long-term basis, MISP is contributing important benchmarking data for the CSP industry.

Concentrated Solar Power OnDemand Demonstration (CSPonD Demo) came online in October 2015.

It was acollaborative Masdar Institute-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) research project.

The innovative research and development outcomes produced by the MISP intend to lead to the creation of next-generation CSP and TES technologies that are more affordable and efficient, making thermal solar energy an increasingly viable option for solar power generation in the UAE and around the world, helping the UAE reach its innovative renewable energy ambitions.

To take a deep visit onsite to the project, you are welcome to join CSP Focus MENA 2019 event on June 24-27 in UAE, during which the delegation got opportunity to visit MISP in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi on the first day. 

Masdar Solar Hub’s Facility Locations

Moreover, Dr. Nicolas Calvet, Chair of the MISP and Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Masdar Institute of Science and Technology will be speaking at the afterwards Jun.26-27 industry conference & expo in Dubai. 

Registration as normal delegate, exhibitor or speaker are going on

Click to get the full brochure of CSP Focus MENA 2019