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Heliogen tests its concentrated solar control software at Sandia Labs (www.power-eng.com)

submitted 11 months ago by lntl@lemmy.ml to c/usa@lemmy.ml

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According to the company, correcting the aim of the NSTTF heliostats using its software reduced tracking error to 0.33 mrad, surpassing the project target of less than 1.0 mrad. The software also measured the alignment of the mirror facets to improve beam quality.

Concentrated solar is great because it can collect more of the Sun' energy than PV AND can store it AND doesn't create toxic waste at the end of the life of the reflectors. It's weird that it's so much more expensive than PV.

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[–] PowerCrazy@lemmy.ml -1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It requires a lot more space, requires molten salt which is dangerous if handled incorrectly, plus it is very toxic if not disposed of properly.

[–] lntl@lemmy.ml 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

achtually...

PV requires more space per watt, the batteries required for storage of PV are very dangerous if not handled correctly, and it's well known that the heavy metals used to manufacture PV cells are very toxic.

further, PV is distributed which means the heavy metals are in our communities unlike a centralized system of molten salt

[–] PowerCrazy@lemmy.ml -1 points 11 months ago

Ok sure. But you don't have an acre of space on your roof to run a molten salt reactor.