Concentrated Solar Power: Current State, Impact, and Technological Developments

CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER
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Abstract
The concept of concentrated solar power technology tends to be a big factor when any country is
on the move to achieve a low-carbon economy. Globally, by 2016 CSP alone had produced a
total of 4815 megawatts of electricity which is a very promising figure since it produced a total
of only 354 megawatts in 2005. Then, Spain was the leading CSP user by producing a capacity
of 2300 megawatts and was followed by the United States (US) at 1740 megawatts. In general,
this paper provides a detailed review of how concentrated solar power works. Therefore, the
research covers the current state of concentrated solar power in the US, the impact the energy has
on other energy systems, technological developments available as well as the barriers of using
concentrated solar power.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................................2
TABLE OF CONTENT...................................................................................................................3
1.0 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................4
2.0 CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER......................................................................................5
2.1 Current state of concentrated solar power (CSP) systems.....................................................5
2.1.1How the CSP system works.............................................................................................5
2.1.2 The state of CSP in the US.............................................................................................5
2.1.3 Why CSP is gaining popularity in the US......................................................................6
2.2 Technological developments.................................................................................................7
2.2.1 Collector technologies....................................................................................................7
2.2.2 Storage technologies.....................................................................................................11
2.2.3 Emerging technologies.................................................................................................12
2.3 Impact of CSP......................................................................................................................13
2.3.1 Impact on energy systems.............................................................................................13
2.3.2 Impact on other fuels....................................................................................................13
2.3.3 Impact on the environment...........................................................................................13
2.4 Barriers and opportunities....................................................................................................14
2.4.1 Siting barriers................................................................................................................14
2.4.2 Transmission barriers....................................................................................................14
2.4.3 Market entry barriers....................................................................................................15
2.4.5 The unequal playing field.............................................................................................15
2.4.6 Reliability misconceptions............................................................................................16
3.0 CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................16
BIBLIOGRAPHY..........................................................................................................................17

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Low-carbon power is derived from technologies that generate energy and in the process emit the
lowest amounts of carbon dioxide to the environment. Such technologies include nuclear, hydro,
solar and wind power.
The concept of using lenses and mirrors in order to concentrate light from the sun was first
applied centuries ago. Archimedes documented on how the ancient Greeks applied mirrors in
channelling light energy to set ablaze the ships of the enemies. Currently, the idea has been
modified and converted to a more refined form of energy generation called the concentrated solar
power (CSP).
By 1980, the Department of Energy in the US had made a strategic plan and went a step further
and invested in it to show how viable it was. This was the Solar One project in California which
made it possible for the development of the Solar Two project in 1996. Currently, there are over
800 MW of CSP plants that are operational in the US alone.