Wind Energy

USA and Spain Crucial for the Developments of the CSP Industry

The USA is the market leader in terms of installed capacity with 63% market share, followed by Spain with 32% of operating capacity. USA and Spain crucial for the developments of the Concentrating Solar Power industry. According to The Global Concentrated Solar Power Industry Report currently, there are 679 MW of installed concentrated solar energy capacity worldwide and more than 2000 MW under construction.

These two markets will continue to be crucial for the development of the industry into the next decade, with Spain accounting for the largest share of projects under construction with almost 89%. In terms of the technology employed, the market is dominated by Parabolic Trough technology, which accounts for 88% of operating plants and 97.5% of projects under construction.

The solar field represents the largest share of the cost of any Concentrating Solar Power plant. Depending on the technology this cost could vary from around 43% for Tower and Fresnel technology, to almost 60% for Parabolic Trough and Dish Stirling solar thermal plants. The most significant cost reductions are likely to come about by innovations in solar field design, which could bring down the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) by 15 to 28% depending on the technology.

However, experience in Spain has shown that seasonal variations in solar resources have an effect on the number of hours a concentrated solar energy plant operates, reducing operating time by almost two hours in winter. This problem can be mitigated by using thermal storage technologies, which would allow CSP to generate electricity during cloudy periods and through the night.

The Global Concentrated Solar Power Industry report is an invaluable asset for anyone in the Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) industry and offers an impartial and in-depth assessment of CSP technology including essential cost and performance data on the four main concentrated solar energy technologies: Parabolic Trough, Power Tower, Fresnel and Dish Stirling, industries and markets.

This unbiased report combines the very latest market data and high-level analysis with captivating real life case studies of up and running concentrated solar energy plants and is a result of in depth analysis and data collected from over 130 industry players who participated in the first Concentrating Solar Power industry focused survey.

www.csptoday.com/cspmarkets/report-summary.shtml