7. Concentrated Solar Power

After photovoltaics (PV), concentrating solar power (CSP) is at present the major technology for producing solar electricity. Generally, CSP uses concentrating high-reflective mirrors to generate high-temperature thermal energy that is fed into conventional steam or gas turbines for the production of utility-scale power. Within CSP systems, the most mature are the parabolic trough systems, which concentrate the energy from the sun by means of long cylindrical mirrors of parabolic cross section. Next in popularity are the tower systems, which use a large field of numerous flat mirrors (heliostats) to concentrate the solar direct radiation into a receiver located at the top of the tower. Also, parabolic dishes and linear Fresnel reflectors must be considered. These technologies are described in this chapter and grid parity is analysed and expected to be reached soon for locations with strong solar direct irradiation. Finally, in relation to CSP, it is important to emphasise how thermal storage as well as natural gas hybridisation can be easily added, thus practically eliminating the power intermittencies of other important renewable technologies.