Renewable electricity costs have fallen sharply over the past decade, driven by improving technologies, economies of scale, increasingly competitive supply chains and growing developer experience. Since 2010, utility-scale solar PV power has shown the sharpest cost decline at 82%, followed by concentrating solar power (CSP) at 47%, onshore wind [...]
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) have developed a low cost Solar 'Parabolic Trough Collector' (PTC) system for concentrating solar energy with industrial applications in areas such as desalination, space heating and space cooling, among others. This indigenously designed and developed system was lightweight with high energy efficiency [...]
CSP plants could be built at a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of $76/MWh near the city of Copiapo in northern Chile, according to a report by researchers at Santiago's Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria and the Fraunhofer Chile Research Foundation. The researchers estimated CSP production, capital costs, operational [...]
Concentrated solar power can deliver greater grid stability than photovoltaics, but needs better recognition of its value to be competitive. Concentrated solar power's failure to gain momentum in U.S. markets is a signal that traditional resource valuations may be slowing the energy transition, a February CSP conference made clear. CSP, [...]
Soon to hit the market, auto-calibrating heliostat systems will cut capex, accelerate construction times and expand siting potential, suppliers told New Energy Update. As CSP developers drive for lower costs, heliostat performance has become a key area of research. Heliostats can represent half of the capital costs of a [...]
Concentrating Solar Power costs have already plummeted by 47% compared to 2010. It is likely that costs will continue their downward trajectory thanks to economies of scale, deployment in locations with better solar resources and lower costs of capital, according to a study by the International Renewable Energy Agency [...]
Cutting risk in financing will be the next key to further cut Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) costs, according to the author of Non-recourse project financing for concentrated solar thermal power published in the journal Utilities Policy. Dr. Steven Geroe teaches Energy and Environmental Law and Contract Law at Melbourne’s [...]
A new ceramic particle Concentrated Solar Power receiver soon to be tested in the U.S. could lower the cost of energy by up to 20% and accelerate industrial heat deployment through particle transport innovations, Reiner Buck, Head of Solar Tower Systems at German Aerospace Centre (DLR), told New Energy Update. [...]
One of Abengoa’s main objectives is to increase the competitiveness of renewable energies, especially of concentrated solar thermal technology. The Scarabeus project, funded by the European Commission, seeks to achieve this goal by introducing novel supercritical CO2 cycles in solar thermal plants. Today, efficiency values have already been reached [...]
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has reported that energy generation and installation costs of concentrated solar power (CSP) projects fell sharply in 2018, down more than 40% from 2010. IRENA analyzed multiple financial and technical parameters related to concentrated solar power projects in its latest report Renewable Power [...]
Renewable energy has become an increasingly competitive way to meet new power generation needs. This comprehensive cost study from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) highlights the latest trends for each of the main renewable power technologies. Released ahead of high-profile United Nations energy and climate discussions, Renewable Power Generation [...]
The tower form of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) is very young technology. Less than a gigawatt is deployed globally, making it a nascent technology at the “Cambrian explosion” stage; multiple innovations are still being explored to cut costs. (How tower CSP works) A new economic study looks at reducing [...]
Industrial power and heat developers are adapting designs to minimize construction costs and shorten payback periods and greater financing support could see costs fall by a half, industry experts told New Energy Update. Falling technology costs and growing carbon reduction objectives have spurred industrial companies to turn towards renewable energy [...]
