How does CSP work?

CSP technology produces electricity by concentrating and harnessing solar thermal energy using mirrors. At a CSP installation, mirrors reflect the sun to a receiver that collects and stores the heat energy. That heat is used to power an engine or turbine that is connected to an electricity generator.

What is a CSP power plant?

CSP plants can use thermal energy storage systems to store the power until it’s needed, for example during periods of minimal sunlight. The ability to store energy is what makes CSP a flexible source of renewable energy. CSP systems can also be combined with other power sources to create hybrid power plants.

How do CSP systems store heat?

There are several ways the various CSP technologies receive the heated fluid to store thermal energy from the sun, but once ready to store, a huge metal tank – like the one pictured above – stores the hot liquid, whether in molten salts (at about 565°C) for power tower CSP or in a heat transfer fluid (at about 400°C) for parabolic trough CSP.

Is CSP a reliable source of electricity?

CSP also provides a relatively continuous source of electricity, particularly in comparison to solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind power, which provide intermittent supplies. Because CSP plants can store solar energy in the form of molten salts, the electricity generated is predictable and reliable.

What is concentrating solar power (CSP) technology?

10. Concentrating solar power (CSP) technology involves using mirrors, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands, to reflect sunlight and collect solar heat to generate electricity. A single CSP plant can generate enough power for about 70,000 homes -- making it a major player of the utility-scale solar market.

What is a CSP storage tank?

The 10-hour hot storage tank at the 110 MW Crescent Dunes CSP power tower plant in Nevada, the first full size Tower CSP plant to include storage. Typical commercial 100 MW CSP plants hold the hot molten salt at 600°C in a tank about this size to send the heat to boil water for steam to run the turbine in the thermal power block.