Concentrated Solar Power Installed Capacity Increased to 5133 MW by the End of 2017

In 2017, global installed capacity of CSP totals 5133MW, representing an increase of 2.3% over 2016, according to statistics from CSPPLAZA research center.

On the basis of 5017MW of 2016, the CSP installed capacity in 2017 showed only a slight increase for the reason that several projects haven’t put into operation, including Morocco NOOR 2&3, Ashalim 1&2 and other projects in South Africa and China. It’s expected that they will be running in 2018, by then the capacity would explode.

Global finished CSP Installed Capacity over the years

South Africa——100MWe newly installed capacity

The CSP installed capacity in South Africa heads the list again. Xina Solar One Parabolic trough plant, which was put into operation on  August 16^th, 2017, adds 100MW alone. Besides, from 2015 to 2016, 100 MW KaXu Solar One, 50MW Bokpoort and 50MW Khi Solar One were put into operation successively. By the end of 2017, the total CSP installed capacity in South Africa has swollen to 300.56MWe.

100MW Ilanga CSP1 parabolic trough plant and Kathu plant are under construction and are expected to operate in 2018.

Oman——9.24MWe newly installed capacity

In November 2017, 28MWth Oman Miraah I, which belongs to the world’s largest solar EOR project-Miraah, was put into construction. It’s developed by GlassPoint, and total investment is ＄600 million. According to thermoelectric conversion efficiency of 33%, Miraah I’s installed capacity amounts to 9.24MWe.

The thermal energy produced by the facility will produce steam that will be used for thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to extract heavy and viscous oil at the Amal oilfield. Thermal EOR, which is touted to enhance well productivity by up to 300%, uses high-pressure steam, which is injected into the oilfield reservoirs to make the oil easier to be pumped to the surface.

Global CSP Installed Capacity by country

Denmark——5.48MWe newly installed capacity

A CSP Project, which jointly operates with biomass-fuelled organic rankine cycle (ORC) system, adds 16.6MWth (amounting to 5.48MWe) to the total installed capacity of Denmark. It has been merged into regional heating network, providing sustainable heating and electricity according to radiation level.

The 16.6 MWth solar energy plant is based on the CSP parabolic trough technology consisting of 40 rows of 125 metre U-shaped mirrors with an aperture area of 26,929 m³.

China——1MWe newly installed capacity

CSP installed capacity of China increased by 1MWe. In May 2017, Badaling 1MW parabolic trough project achieved trial run. Its construction completed in April before entering debug phase.

In 2017, the first batch demonstration CSP projects entered all-round construction period. Among them, CGN Delingha 50MW Parabolic Trough CSP Project is the fastest in construction and will be the first plant put into operation. In the end of 2017, Huaqiang TeraSolar I 15MW project have basically completed. But they haven’t achieved synchronization to the grid and therefore not included to the total capacity.

Saudi Arabia——0.04MWe newly installed capacity

In late September 2017, a 124kWt (amounting to 0.04MWe) linear Fresnel project, developed by Soltigua together with its project partner IRIS Technologies, was put into operation in Saudi Arabia. The project has been used by the KFUPM University to heat air up to 200℃ to run a desiccant wheel for air dehumidification.