The full potential of concentrated solar power

March 8, 2016 | By

Concentrated solar power's relatively low cost and ability to deliver power during periods of peak demand -- when and where it's needed -- means it can be a major contributor to the world's future distributed energy needs.

Credit: NREL

In fact, if utilized to its full potential, Aruvian Research predicts concentrated solar power could provide for 25 percent of the world's energy needs by 2050.  Currently, there is 679 MW of installed CSP capacity worldwide and more than 2000 MW under development.

The solar field makes for the largest share of the cost of any solar plant. While much attention on the future of clean energy is focused on the competition from "cheaper" fossil fuel alternatives, it should be noted that if a clean technology is actually the more profitable option, that becomes a massive driver for change. In a sense this is a positive feedback mechanism that comes into play as soon as a technology is competitive in even a few market segments.

Rather than simply subsidizing CSP, technology-neutral market-based measures should target the clean energy characteristics and strong correlation of generation to real time demand that CSP provides, Aruvian notes. Rewards linked to competitive market time of day pricing or equivalent firm capacity contributions should be considered. To this end, Aruvian says energy sector agencies should model future prices of both energy and ancillary services after net energy metering -- to calculate future CSP value under scenarios that include high penetration of intermittent renewable resources.

The CSP industry must continue to focus on lowering cost through deployment and technology improvement, particularly efficiency, Aruvian warns, and those cost reductions must be clearly demonstrated to stakeholders.

Major cost reductions will be achieved through capturing the lessons of early deployment, and the CSP industry should work pro-actively to leverage the lessons gained from publically funded early deployment to ensure they flow to the widest possible base within the constraints of competitive markets, Aruvian contends.

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