CSP World

Small-scale CSP, from the range of 100 kW up to 2 MW, could reach 63 GW by 2050, mostly for process heat and rural on/off-grid applications according to a report released by Carbon Trust, which has been conducted for UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change and Department of International Development.

The study -can be downloaded at CSP World Library- concludes that key barriers for industrial applications are low awareness that CSP is a potential energy source for industrial process heat, lack of confidence that the technology works in local conditions and applications, and payback periods that are considered unattractive by potential customers.

Off-grid

Regarding applications for rural off-grid, the report sees the lack of an optimized and proven technology solution as a key barrier. Furthermore, report authors have found a lack of support programs for off-grid CSP systems. Only some parabolic dish systems with a Stirling engine or a small turbine and the hybrid solar-gas tower developed by AORA could be considered as a ‘proven’ technology, although these are demonstration projects yet.

“Any intervention in off-grid power generation for rural communities only makes sense in sub- Saharan countries, and not in South America, given the large rural population in countries such as Kenya which have no grid support – a situation not found in countries such as Chile”, says Dr. Christopher Sansom, CSP Team Leader at Cranfield University.

Furthermore, off-grid systems will face another barrier, the need of qualified workforce to operate this kind of plants

On-grid

In the case of grid-connected systems, small-scale CSP makes virtually no sense. Current development of CSP has shown that large projects are more attractive to achieve the lowest cost per kWh generated. Only demonstration projects can be found in the range of less than 10 MW.

However, an exception to this last point is underscored in the study, the case of islands, where small-scale CSP with thermal storage could be connected to grid providing a more stable source of energy than other renewables.

Process heat

Small-scale CSP for process heat will probably be vastly deployed around the world. It’s a cheap and easy way to reduce fossil fuel consumption in heat-intensive industries. In a recent article by CSP World, it was highlighted with the particular example of the Indian company Clique Solar, the developer of the Arun Dish.

The report has found three critical barriers; low awareness, lack of confidence and unattractive payback periods.

“Awareness is the biggest challenge for this industry. It is proving such a huge impediment that demand is still lying latent. This latency needs to be converted into active demand by creating awareness and by keeping focus on sales. Thus we plan to create reference installations in different industries across the country in the near future” said Clique Solar’s team to CSP World in a recent article.

Support programs

Report researchers have found out very few support programs. Only one global program is focused in this issue, the International Energy Agency “Solar Heating and Cooling Programme”, which aims to raise awareness and connect researchers from relevant projects around the world.

India is the leader country in promoting the use of small-scale CSP for process heat. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)is running a program in India jointly with the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The project has a total budget of $23.75 million.

The key activities are the deployment of 30 demonstration plants and a further 60 replication plants and encouraging foreign suppliers to move into the Indian market to provide a broader diversity of technologies.