When most of us think of solar power, we think of photovoltaic power generation or distributed roof PV; these photovoltaic (PV) solar cells will play a key role in the global push for "net zero" movements; moreover, you can also think , as long as there are enough wind farms on the planet, our energy needs will be met. In fact, these traditional renewable energy sources are intermittent, which means they cannot generate electricity when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing.
Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) is a technology that offers a solution to this problem, so why is almost no one talking about it?
As the name suggests, CSP works by concentrating the sun's rays on specific points, causing them to heat up. The concept is similar to burning ants with a magnifying glass, but instead of using lenses to focus the light, the CSP factory uses thousands of giant mirrors - which we call " heliostats " - to reflect the light onto a receiver. Here, thermal energy is used to heat the fluid, which in turn can pass through the heat exchanger , where the water is boiled into steam. The steam then drives turbines which create electricity by spinning a generator - just like in a traditional fossil fuel power plant.
Even a few cloudy days are not enough to kill energy supplies
The idea of a CSP is nothing new: in fact, the first plant was built by a research team in Italy in the 1960s, and the design has become increasingly sophisticated over the years. The more advanced. Systems can now concentrate the sun's energy with such efficiency that they can reach temperatures in excess of 1,000°C - hot enough to melt salt and even rock and use it as a heat transfer fluid.
This is key to why CSP has so much potential, because thermal energy (in the form of molten salt or rock) is easier to store than electrical energy, which requires very inefficient and expensive batteries. With proper sealing and insulation, the hot liquid can be stored for up to 10 hours, so the plant can continue to generate electricity throughout the night. The hope is that within just a few years, this storage period could be extended to a week, meaning even a few cloudy days won't be enough to choke off energy supplies.
storage capacity also enables grid providers to increase power production during periods of higher demand. Power supplies that can do this are called "dispatchable" and are critical to maintaining the flexible energy systems we as consumers expect.
If CSP is a revolutionary technology, then why don't governments invest in it?
Despite its storage capabilities, CSP plants still require direct sunlight and therefore require a minimum average daily amount of sunshine to generate electricity. This limits the feasible locations of SCP plants. It also means that CSP power plants cannot be built in rainy and short daylight hours. and cloudy areas.
Nevertheless, there are many locations that are ideal for deploying CSP. Spain leads the way with 2.3GW of capacity as of September 2021, followed by the United States with a total of 1.7GW. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), other major players in the global market include China, South Africa, Morocco, and United Arab Emirates, which are expected to witness the maximum growth by 2030.
While the prospect of improving CSP capabilities in these countries is a good thing, any planned development falls well short of the level needed to make a significant impact in the energy sector. In fact, the CSP capacity growth forecast by the IEA represents only 3% of the capacity needed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. So, what went wrong? If CSP is a revolutionary technology, why aren't governments and energy companies investing in it?
Of course, the answer lies mainly in cost.
Due to the scale and complexity of these projects, the upfront capital costs are much higher than the cost of installing photovoltaic solar panels, so investors tend to avoid CSPs entirely. But this comparison between CSP and PV is outdated and fundamentally flawed. Policymakers shouldn’t pit both technologies against each other just because they have the word “solar” in their names. CSP is a source of thermal energy and therefore more comparable to natural gas or coal.While it’s true that gas and coal power remain cheaper than CSP, these powerful carbon emitters certainly have no place in a net-zero emissions future – and CSP does.
As more CSP factories begin to emerge, industry development costs will inevitably decrease. But even so, the global community must first start to see that, like all renewable energy sources, solar power is not an either/or situation and that these technologies work best when deployed together. If this is achieved, then CSP will surely become the dominant dispatchable energy source in the coming years. With COP27 now only five months away, now is the time to put CSP at the top of the agenda if we want to see this happen. (Source: varsity.co.uk Excerpt from: "Tom Howarth explains the science behind the latest potential renewable energy source")
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