National Solar Thermal Test Facility

National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF)
Established	1978
Research type	Concentrating Solar Power
DOE Office	Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
Location	Albuquerque, NM
Operating agency	Honeywell International and Sandia National Laboratories
Website	[1]

34°57′50″N 106°30′35″W / 34.963889°N 106.509722°W / 34.963889; -106.509722

Operated by Sandia National Laboratories for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) is the only test facility of this type in the United States.^[1] The NSTTF’s primary goal is to provide experimental engineering data for the design, construction, and operation of unique components and systems in proposed solar thermal electrical plants planned for large-scale power generation.

The site was built and instrumented to provide test facilities for a variety of solar and non-solar applications. The facility can provide

high heat flux and temperatures for materials testing or aerodynamic heating simulation
large fields of optics for astronomical observations or satellite calibrations
solar furnace
rotating platform for parabolic trough evaluation.

^ "Sandia National Laboratories: National Solar Thermal Test Facility". Energy.sandia.gov. 2012-09-27. Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2012-10-04.

[1] "Sandia National Laboratories: National Solar Thermal Test Facility". Energy.sandia.gov. 2012-09-27. Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2012-10-04.

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