Concentrated solar power

Not to be confused with concentrator photovoltaics.

An areal view of a large circle of thousands of bluish mirrors in a tan desert
A solar power tower at Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project concentrating light via 10,000 mirrored heliostats spanning thirteen million sq ft (1.21 km2).
The three towers of the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility
Part of the 354 MW SEGS solar complex in northern San Bernardino County, California
Bird's eye view of Khi Solar One, South Africa

Concentrated solar power (CSP, also known as concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal) systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight into a receiver.[1] Electricity is generated when the concentrated light is converted to heat (solar thermal energy), which drives a heat engine (usually a steam turbine) connected to an electrical power generator[2][3][4] or powers a thermochemical reaction.[5][6][7]

As of 2021, global installed capacity of concentrated solar power stood at 6.8 GW.[8] As of 2023, the total was 8.1 GW, with the inclusion of three new CSP projects in construction in China[9] and in Dubai in the UAE.[9] The U.S.-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which maintains a global database of CSP plants, counts 6.6 GW of operational capacity and another 1.5 GW under construction.[10]

  1. ^ Kimi, Imad. "Photovoltaic vs concentrated solar power the key differences". Voltagea. Dr. imad. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  2. ^ Boerema, Nicholas; Morrison, Graham; Taylor, Robert; Rosengarten, Gary (1 November 2013). "High temperature solar thermal central-receiver billboard design". Solar Energy. 97: 356–368. Bibcode:2013SoEn...97..356B. doi:10.1016/j.solener.2013.09.008.
  3. ^ Law, Edward W.; Prasad, Abhnil A.; Kay, Merlinde; Taylor, Robert A. (1 October 2014). "Direct normal irradiance forecasting and its application to concentrated solar thermal output forecasting – A review". Solar Energy. 108: 287–307. Bibcode:2014SoEn..108..287L. doi:10.1016/j.solener.2014.07.008.
  4. ^ Law, Edward W.; Kay, Merlinde; Taylor, Robert A. (1 February 2016). "Calculating the financial value of a concentrated solar thermal plant operated using direct normal irradiance forecasts". Solar Energy. 125: 267–281. Bibcode:2016SoEn..125..267L. doi:10.1016/j.solener.2015.12.031.
  5. ^ "Sunshine to Petrol" (PDF). Sandia National Laboratories. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Integrated Solar Thermochemical Reaction System". U.S. Department of Energy. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  7. ^ Wald, Matthew L. (10 April 2013). "New Solar Process Gets More Out of Natural Gas". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference chinCSP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b "China". SolarPACES. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  10. ^ "CSP Projects Around the World". SolarPACES. Retrieved 15 May 2023.