Concentrated Solar Power

Concentrated Solar Power

Concentrated solar power (CSP, also known as concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal) generates photovoltaic power by using mirrors or lenses to focus a large area of sunlight onto a receiver. increase. The concentrated light is converted to heat (solar heat), which drives a heat engine (usually a steam turbine) connected to an electrical generator or undergoes a thermochemical reaction to produce electricity.

The Concentrated Solar Power Market is expected to grow at a strong CAGR of 5.6% during the forecast period. It is mainly owing to the government programs and incentives to promote cleaner renewable and increasing investments in solar power globally. According to IEA, the total Power Produced from CSP is expected to be 34 GWh in 2023. Power from CSP is relatively expensive compared to power from solar and wind. However, recent announcements such as a price of $73/MWh for a 700 MW CSP project in the UAE indicate significant cost savings potential. This pure energy cost comparison does not take into account the CSP's ability to reschedule generation and provide ancillary services to the power system.

Further reductions in technology costs will depend on speed of deployment and empirical learning, but the high cost compared to other technologies, especially photovoltaics, remains an obstacle. Funding for CSP projects is hampered by a combination of technology risk, country risk, large project scale, and development costs. Ongoing projects rely on generous FITs (China, Israel) and low-cost financing (Middle East and Africa). However, research and development (R&D), technology learning, and large-scale deployment promise significant cost savings potential.

• Based on Technology, the Concentrated Solar Power market is divided into Beam-Down Tower, Dish, Hybrid CSP-PV, Hybrid, Linear Fresnel, Hybrid, Parabolic Trough, Linear Fresnel, Parabolic Trough, and Power Tower segments. The parabolic trough and power tower segment is expected to experience the highest growth and captured a significant portion of the market as these technologies were generally used to build Concentrated Solar Power Plants. Only around 100 of these concentrated solar power plants are built around the world as it takes massive investment to build and operating expenses to function properly.
• For a better understanding of the market adoption of Concentrated Solar Power, the market is analyzed based on its worldwide presence in the countries such as North & South America (U.S.A, Chile, and the Rest of North & South America), Europe (Spain, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, India, and Rest of Asia-Pacific) and Middle East & Africa (Morocco, South Africa, Israel, UAE, and Rest of Middle East & Africa). Europe acquired the majority share in the Concentrated Solar Power market due to the rampant development of CSP In Spain and is expected to witness an exponential CAGR in the forecasted period. It is mainly owing to the policies, investment, and research and development that the governments had established to remove carbon emissions which is increasing the usage of solar energy in the upcoming years. For instance: the European Union as a whole, and individual member states such as Germany, have dedicated targets for solar energy. Solar energy plays a key role in the clean energy transition. It will contribute to reaching the objectives of the REPowerEU plan and reduce the EU’s dependence on non-renewable energy. Solar is the source of energy that is growing at the highest pace in the EU. In 2020, the EU solar market grew by 18 GW and 5.2% of the EU’s total electricity production came from solar energy. Solar energy is cheap, clean, modular and flexible. The cost of solar power has decreased by 82% over the last decade, making it the most competitive source of electricity in many parts of the EU.

Some of the major players operating in the market are Abengoa Solar, Acciona, S.A., GE Renewable Energy, Enel Green Power S.p.A., BrightSource Energy, Inc., ACWA Power, Chiyoda Corporation, Shams Power LTD, Aalborg CSP, and Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc.