The promising perspective of concentrating solar power (CSP)

Concentrating solar power is the technology that is applied in a solar thermal power station. Solar radiation is concentrated on the boiler of a conventional power station. A review is given on the six concentration methods. Following a stagnation period of 15 years several new CSP projects have been announced. The direct normal irradiation (DNI) and the yield of CSP-stations are calculated for cloudless days in Southern Morocco and Northern Australia. A baseload CSP plant of 1 GWe requires 34 km² of mirrors. A portion of these mirrors can be operated by independent solar farmers. Storage of solar heat enables solar electricity production at night. In the future hydrogen and chemical energy storing materials like zinc metal will be produced using concentrated solar heat. CSP is already competitive in sunny countries currently using oil generated electricity. In the future the investment costs of CSP will be 3600 $/kW_e, making CSP electricity about just as expensive as nuclear electricity