Flowchart of solar concentrated power supply system

What is concentrating solar power (CSP)?

All concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies use a mirror configuration to concentrate the sun’s light energy onto a receiver and convert it into heat. The heat can then be used to create steam to drive a turbine to produce electrical power or used as industrial process heat.

What are concentrating solar power systems?

Figure 1: Concentrating solar power (CSP) systems are essential technologies helping to harness the power of the sun to meet growing energy demands Source: Eyal Shtark/Adobe Stock CSP systems can be broadly categorized into four main types: parabolic trough, linear Fresnel, power tower and dish-Stirling collectors.

Is concentrated solar power a dynamic power system?

Concentrated solar power (CSP) is playing a more important role in realizing a highly renewable penetrated power system. However, the lack of a suitable dynamic CSP plant model hinders its power system dynamic studies.

Is concentrating solar energy a good option?

Of the many renewable energy sources available today, solar energy is a promising option because of its abundance and scalability. Concentrating solar power (CSP) systems are essential technologies helping to harness the power of the sun to meet growing energy demands while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

What is the optimal solar multiple for a CSP plant?

When a thorough economic analysis (Section 2.10) is performed on a CSP plant, it will typically be found that an optimal solar multiple for a system without storage will be in the range 1.15 to 1.30, while for systems with storage, the optimal solar multiple will be 2 or higher, depending on how much storage is installed.

How does concentrated solar radiation affect a receiver's energy flow?

At steady state, the net energy flow into a receiver from concentrated solar radiation will be balanced by energy outflows from the flow of heat transfer fluid or other energy conversion process, plus a range of energy losses, due to unwanted reflection, radiative emission, convective or conductive processes, detailed in the following sections.