SolarPACES 2014 conference was held successfully in ChinaNationalConvention Center,Beijingfrom Sep. 16 to Sep. 20. The conference was hosted by IEA-SolarPACES, Department of High and New Technology Development and Industrialization, Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (MOST), Department of International Cooperation, MOST, Bureau of International Co-operation, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and organized by Institute of Electrical Engineering, CAS. About 600 representatives from both at home and abroad attended the conference.
On the morning of Sep. 16, Dr. Wang Zhifeng, chair of the conference and chair of National Solar Thermal Energy Alliance, presided over the opening ceremony. Those presented in the opening ceremony include: Mr. Chen Jiachang, deputy director of Department of High and New Technology Development and Industrialization, MOST; Mr. Liang Zhipeng, deputy director of New Energy and Renewable Energy Department of National Energy Department; Mr. Shi Dinghuan, chair of Chinese Renewable Energy Society; Mr. Xu Jianzhong, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and chair of Chinese Society of Engineering Thermophysics; Mr. Sun Honghang, program director of High and New Technology Development and Industrialization, MOST; Mr. Zhou Xiaoxin, academician of CAS and honorary president of China Electric Power Research Institute; Mr. Hu Wenrui, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and researcher of Institute of Mechanics, CAS; Mr. Guo Zengyuan, academician of CAS and professor of Tsinghua University; Mr. Li Yaohua, deputy director of Institute of Electrical Engineering, CAS; Dr. Paolo Frankl, Head of Renewable Energy Division, IEA; Dr. Manuel Blanco, Chairman of IEA-SolarPACES; Dr. Luis Crespo, president of ESTELA, etc.
The conference includes 4 plenary sessions, 9 oral sessions and 3 poster sessions. The presented topics include solar collectors, thermal receivers, heat transfer fluids, thermal/thermochemical energy storage, power cycles, CSP systems, grid integration, advanced manufacturing for CSP, reliability and service life prediction, commercial and demonstration projects, policy and markets, solar fuels, measurements and control, water desalination and detoxification, solar resource assessment and general topics in CSP.
During the conference, 27 companies from both at home and abroad exhibit their products, promoting international cooperation and technical exchanges to a certain extent.
The closing ceremony started at 3:35pm on Sep. 19, at which Dr. Wang Zhifeng, Chair of the conference, expressed his gratitude to IEA, Ministry of Science and Technology,ChineseAcademyof Sciences, organizers of the conference, sponsors of the conferences, and all the participants. Norbert Geuder and Stefan Wilbbert from DLR won SolarPACES 2014 technology innovation award. In the end of the conference, it’s announced that SolarPACES 2015 conference would be held inCape Town,North Africa, from Oct. 13 to Oct. 16.
On Sep. 20, a technical tour to Badaling Solar Thermal Pilot Plant (CSP R&D facility of IEE-CAS) was organized. About 260 participants joined the visit.
It is the first time that SolarPACES conference has ever been held in an Asia country, which reflects international community’s great concern on China’s CSP industry. It is believed that the commercialization of CSP technology will speed up through our effort.
