Future Concepts in Solar Thermal Electricity Generation

Abstract

There is a variety of measures to reduce costs of future CSP plants. This text tries to identify the common features future concepts may have: (a) Higher concentrations for higher temperatures and efficient cycles reduce solar field and receiver size and hence costs (b) Dispatchability increases the value of CSP electricity by offering dispatchable electricity (c) Systems with reduced complexity lead to capital and O&M cost reduction. Futher non-technological issues to reduce costs are economies of scale, like plant size scale-up, repetition of plants and component mass production, qualification, performance testing, and standardization to reduce the technological project risks and facilitate the bankability, and last but not least, a stable, reliable, and long-term regulatory framework.