The MoneyMorning article reads like snake-oil and conspiracy theorizing, but those sorts of things often take some real thing and use it as a springboard for their grift. I think I've found an item that's the springboard here. Can't comment on the science of it, but that's what peer review is for. (This is just a press release.)
Masdar Institute Research Successfully Proves UAE Desert Sand Can Store Solar Energy up to 1000°C
PhD Student Presents Research Paper Developed by Dr Nicolas Calvet’s Team at Conference in South Africa
Released: 4-Jan-2016 2:05 PM EST
Newswise — Abu Dhabi-UAE: 29 December, 2015 – The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, today announced that its researchers have successfully demonstrated that desert sand from the UAE could be used in concentrated solar power (CSP) facilities to store thermal energy up to 1000°C.
The research project called ‘Sandstock’ has been seeking to develop a sustainable and low-cost gravity-fed solar receiver and storage system, using sand particles as the heat collector, heat transfer and thermal energy storage media.
Desert sand from the UAE can now be considered a possible thermal energy storage (TES) material. Its thermal stability, specific heat capacity, and tendency to agglomerate have been studied at high temperatures.
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Replacing the typical heat storage materials used in TES systems -- synthetic oil and molten salts -- with inexpensive sand can increase plant efficiency due to the increased working temperature of the storage material and therefore reduce costs. A TES system based on such a local and natural material like sand also represents a new sustainable energy approach that is relevant for the economic development of Abu Dhabi’s future energy systems.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/masdar-institute-research-successfully-proves-uae-desert-sand-can-store-solar-energy-up-to-1000-c
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