Concentrated solar power (CSP) was the hot technology in the United States five or six years ago, before silicon prices plummeted and made rooftop installations more affordable. As prices for silicon and thin-film panels continue to fall, is there are place for CSP in the U.S. solar mix?
Marco Geraghty, research and project manager at CSP Today, a U.K.-based concentrated solar online publication, thinks the answer is yes.
“CSP has been really successful in the United States, with about 40% of all worldwide CSP installations,” Garaghty says. “But there is a lot more that can be done to boost CSP deployment.”
Two of the greatest challenges U.S. CSP faces is an unwieldy permitting process and land-intensive construction plans.
“They also require an incredibly high intensity of heat — a resource which is only found in the Southwest,” Garaghty says. “Fortunately, the United States has the largest amount of land where this heat is available, which is why there is so much potential for CSP.”
Changes in government policy to make these challenges easier to meet would push CSP forward in the United States, Garaghty says.
Not everyone shares Garaghty’s enthusiasm for the prospects of CSP in the United States, however. Matt Campbell, senior of Power Plant Products for SunPower, believes CSP’s time in the United States may have passed.
“In recent years, several gigawatts of planned CSP projects in the United States were switched to PV because of its lower costs,” Campbell says. “Although there are CSP projects globally, they have also lost momentum, and the world’s largest solar market — China — is seeing little, if any, CSP development.
“Substantial cost reductions could enable CSP to regain a position in the U.S. solar-power-plant market, but it’s not clear whether this will take place,” he adds. “We don’t expect any new trends with CSP in the United States in the near future.”
Photo by Dennis Schroeder / NREL
Tom Georgis, senior vice president of development at SolarReserve, remains baffled by the way the United States treats CSP. Many countries have come to realize that simply deploying the lowest cost renewable energy technologies such as PV and wind will not adequately meet their energy requirements, he says.
“CSP’s competitive advantage over wind and PV is its ability to incorporate energy storage,” Georgis says. “That ability increases its cost per kilowatt hour but also adds tremendous value to the transmission system and the generation portfolios in that CSP with storage can displace conventional power plants.”
There are three key trends which Geraghty are expecting to see in the following year:
- Storage: “There is currently a race to develop a viable storage technology. As this race intensifies, expect to see CSP’s storage value recognized more than ever.”
- Hybrid: “CSP is also extremely versatile and is able to be work alongside a gas plant. This benefits CSP’s clean power and the cheap price of natural gas power.”
- Exporting: “The U.S. is a front runner in the global race to develop renewable energy. Emerging markets are taking a huge interest in importing this technology as they look to build sustainable economies.”
Until the United States recognizes the value of CSP with storage, it is going to see few, if any, CSP projects announced in the coming years, Georgis says, but there is hope on the horizon.
“Utilities in the United States are beginning to see the value of storage as more and more intermittent renewable generators come online,” Georgis adds. “Intermittency from other renewable sources causes strain and instability on the grid and requires firming and shaping from conventional generation assets.
Given the uncertainty around the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) extension or language modification, it’s unlikely that CSP companies will take the development risk if a path to financing these large projects is unclear.