Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) is a relatively young and growing industry. In 2010 Alstom cemented their partnership with BrightSource Energy.
Alstom decided to develop CSP (concentrated solar power), because of its potential for large-scale, efficient power generation. Requiring clear skies and strong sunlight, at least 1900kWh/m2/y, CSP is the ideal fit for plants located on the Sun Belt. It is also ideal for centralised on grid or industrial applications with adequate tariff structures.
Thanks to the option of storage capacity that it offers, CSP allows you to have power long after sunset or on days with some cloud coverage.
Alstom offer the most advanced collection and tracking systems for CSP available on the market today.
"Together with their 100 years’ heritage in power generation, expert project management and worldwide coverage, this means we can offer you everything from complete turnkey CSP plants to individual components for your solar power plant".
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), solar energy, including both Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Photovoltaics could account for 25% of global electricity by 2050 and cover a third of global energy demand after 2060.
Alstom’s technology includes affordable options well suited for hybrid and retrofit projects as well as highly efficient tower collectors that deliver a significant return on investment.
There are three main types of solar collectors:
- Power Tower – thousands of flat mirrors track the sun and focus the rays on a tower-mounted boiler
- Parabolic Trough – parallel rows of parabolic mirrors focus the sun’s rays on oil-filled heat collecting pipes
- Linear Fresnel – similar to parabolic collectors, but using flat mirrors to reflect the sun’s heat onto collecting pipes
