Concentrated solar power (CSP) emerges as a beacon of hope in the realm of renewable energy. It employs sunlight as a potent heat source, concentrating solar rays onto a receiver to generate steam, turn turbines, and produce electricity. CSP's potential to reduce carbon emissions, coupled with its remarkable energy storage capabilities, heralds a brighter, more sustainable future.

CSP stands as an ingenious technology that harnesses the sun's heat, concentrating it on a limited surface area using arrays of mirrors. This concentrated heat is then utilized to generate steam, propelling turbines to generate electricity. Diverging from solar photovoltaic technology, which converts sunlight directly into electricity, CSP generates heat, permitting the storage of renewable energy without the need for cumbersome batteries. This transformation substitutes traditional electricity-generating technologies, including coal, oil, and natural gas power plants.

Four predominant CSP technologies have illuminated the path toward a greener future: 1) parabolic trough collectors (PTC), 2) parabolic dish collectors, 3) heliostat field collectors, and 4) linear Fresnel reflectors. While PTC holds the distinction of being the oldest and most widely adopted, tower technology, the most recent addition to the CSP arsenal, is primed to gain prominence. Tower technology blends economic viability with the essential inclusion of energy storage, a burgeoning necessity within the CSP landscape. This analysis meticulously models all CSP technologies, with and without the vital component of energy storage.

A conservative estimate posits current CSP adoption at approximately 0.1 percent of the global electricity generation total. CSP's potential, however, shines most brightly in regions endowed with more than 2.5 megawatt-hours per square meter per annum of sunlight.

A comprehensive study conducted by Greenpeace International, the European Solar Thermal Electricity Association, and the International Energy Agency's SolarPACES group casts an illuminating glimpse into CSP's potential. The findings suggest that CSP could contribute to as much as 25% of the world's energy requirements by 2050, provided investments surge from a global sum of $2.12 billion to an impressive $97.88 billion during this period. Additionally, the study highlights the ongoing technological advancements in CSP, anticipating a dramatic price reduction from the current range of $0.24–0.16/kWh to an even more promising $0.15–0.11/kWh by 2050.

Grounded in a rigorous meta-analysis of data collected from CSP installations across the globe, our estimations afford an average installation cost of US$8,241 per kilowatt. A remarkable learning rate of 20.3 percent underpins the projection, envisaging a cost reduction to US$2,110 per kilowatt in 2030 and a mere US$1,250 in 2050. The average capacity factor for CSP, though marginally lower than conventional technologies at 31 percent, reflects the compelling potential of CSP. Importantly, our projections embrace a decline in operation costs, in alignment with the research of the International Energy Agency (IEA), anticipating a drop to $0.15–0.11/kWh.

To instigate a medium growth trajectory following the Advanced Scenario proposed by the Greenpeace Solar Thermal Electricity Global Outlook 2016 (Greenpeace et al., 2016), which envisions the generation of 3,273.12 terawatt-hours of CSP (8 percent of the total addressable market), the net first cost is projected at US$626.04 billion from 2020 to 2050. Importantly, this investment is accompanied by lifetime net operational costs amounting to US$0.86 trillion. The resulting carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions reduction is a commendable 18.00 gigatons over the period spanning 2020 to 2050.

One of the foremost merits of CSP, when equipped with energy storage, is its capacity to deliver stable power when consumers demand it most, thereby enhancing the reliability of renewable energy sources.

The growth trajectory of CSP capacity hinges on the availability of supportive policies, including greenhouse gas mitigation requirements and financial and regulatory incentives. The dynamic interplay of economies of scale, competitive supply chains, and technological enhancements will precipitate cost reductions, amplifying capacity and diminishing installation costs.

Concentrated solar power, as a stalwart in our arsenal of solutions, offers a compelling pathway towards carbon neutrality. Its remarkable ability to harness the sun's heat, generate renewable energy, and store it for extended use positions CSP as an indispensable tool in our quest to mitigate carbon emissions and propel the world toward a sustainable and environmentally responsible future.

References.

Greenpeace. (2016). Solar Thermal Electricity Global Outlook 2016. Greenpeace, SolarPACES and ESTELA. Retrieved from: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/climate/2016/Solar-Thermal-Electricity-Global-Outlook-2016.pdf

World Energy Outlook. (2018). International Energy Agency (IEA). Retrieved from: https://webstore.iea.org/world-energy-outlook-2018

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.

"CSP Projects Around the World". SolarPACES. Retrieved 15 May 2023.

International Renewable Energy Agency, "Table 2.1: Comparison of different CSP Technologies", in Concentrating Solar Power, Volume 1: Power Sector, RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES: COST ANALYSIS SERIES, June 2012, p. 10.