Solar Thermal Electric Power Plant

Value of CSP Increases Substantially at High Solar Penetration

From a policy standpoint, a simplistic approach to choosing a generation technology might be based simply on picking the option with the lowest overall levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). However, deployment based simply on lowest LCOE ignores the relative benefits of each technology to the grid, how their value to the grid changes as a function of penetration, and how they may actually work together to increase overall usefulness of the solar resource.

Given the dispatchability of CSP enabled by thermal energy storage, it is possible that PV and CSP are at least partially complementary. The dispatchability of CSP with TES can enable higher overall penetration of solar energy in two ways. The first is providing solar-generated electricity during periods of cloudy weather or at night. However a potentially important, and less well analyzed benefit of CSP is its ability to provide grid flexibility, enabling greater penetration of PV (and other variable generation sources such as wind) than if deployed without CSP.

Source: ThinkProgress

More Cost Effective Solar Thermal Electric Power – After Gutenberg

by jcwinnie

The German industrial giant Ferrostaal will use solar technology from eSolar in power plants to be built in Europe, the Middle East and South Africa. eSolar is the California startup backed by Google and other investors. Bill Gross, eSolar’s founder and chairman, said the Ferrostaal agreement continues the startup’s strategy of striking deals with deep-pocketed partners… “We’re looking for partners all over that have that kind of strength to make these plants go forward.” eSolar already signed an agreement with a Chinese industrial company to build solar power plants that would generate 2,000 megawatts of electricity; and, last year, eSolar agreed to license its technology to an Indian developer that plans to build solar projects with a total capacity of 1,000 megawatts.