Egypt launches a solar desalination tender for five CSP projects

According to Fady Elsayed Senior Project Development Manager, Southern Africa, at Infinity Power, the Egyptian Government has launched a tender for five concentrated solar power plants on the north coast: “The Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) has launched a tender for the construction of five Read More …

Published at Solar Energy – Techno-economic assessment of a numbering-up approach for a 100 MWe third generation sodium-salt CSP system

Abstract: This work presents the design and techno-economic analysis of a 100 MWe concentrated solar power (CSP) system using a supercritical CO2 power block with 700 °C input temperature. Aiming to leverage the relatively higher efficiency of small heliostat fields and potential multi-build discounts, a Read More …

Spain seeks thermal energy storage proposals by September

The government of Spain is launching €280 million (US$310 million) in grants for standalone energy storage projects, thermal energy storage and reversible pumped hydro to go online in 2026. The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) opened a public consultation into Read More …

China

Latest CSP in Construction: 2023 (three projects) #1: Huidong New Energy 110 MW Beam-down Tower CSP   #2: Cosin Solar: Jinta Zhongguang 100 MW Tower CSP   #3: CEIC/ Lanzhou Dacheng’s 100 MW Molten Salts Fresnel CSP   Latest Online: 2020 CSNP/Royal Tech Urat – Read More …

Spain

Latest CSP in Development: 2023 Sener Solgest-1 110 MW trough CSP Latest online: 2013 from the first round of CSP in Spain that culminated with 2.3 GW: 150 MW Termosol I, II, III, trough CSP, with 9 hours of storage: in operation since Total CSP Read More …

Israel

Latest Online:2019 Ashalim 230 MW tower and trough CSP SolarPACES-NREL database: All plant details on the Ashalim CSP project that combines tower  (Ashalim/Megalim 121 MW) and trough (Ashalim/Negev 110 MW) CSP with thermal energy storage in molten salts. . Earliest Online: BrightSource SEDC 6 MW Read More …

United Arab Emirates

Latest CSP in Construction: 2023 DEWA “NOOR” 700 MW Tower & Trough CSP project SolarPACES-NREL database: CSP plants in the United Arab Emirates The world’s largest CSP complex will be the 700 MW solar project at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, about Read More …

Molten salt melt starts for huge 700 MW DEWA CSP project

Herlogas, in collaboration with Shanghai Electric, has now successfully melted 340,000 tons of salt for molten salt thermal energy storage and preheated 14 salt tanks at the largest concentrated solar power plant in the world, DEWA ‘s 700 MW CSP project NOOR I at the Read More …

Saudi CSP giant ACWA Power now shelving coal power

[ED: ACWA Power’s CSP projects, developed in whole or in part include Bokpoort and Redstone in South Africa, parts of DEWA in Dubai and NOOR I,II and III in Morocco. It has consistently broken current CSP prices with new record low prices, and broken week-long Read More …

China prioritizes CSP connection and dispatch in new rule

“The power grid company is requested to give priority support to the grid connection and dispatching of the base projects equipped with solar thermal power” says a new government planning document. Source: CSPPlaza China National Energy Administration issued the Notice Related to Promoting the Large-scale Read More …

Shanghai Electric CSP starts sending overnight solar power to Dubai grid

  The energy stored in 700 MW of Shanghai Electric’s trough tower CSP, once all units are operational, can generate power continuously for a maximum of 13.5 hours at night and 15 hours during periods of inclement weather. Source: Shanghai Electric for CSPFocus On November Read More …

China seeks bids to build nine CSP plants

Source: CSPFocus September: Equipment Procurement Tenders- CGN New Energy Jilin 100MW CSP Project On September 2, Da’an Guangtou Zhongneng CSP Company issued a bidding announcement for the turbine generator set, steam generation system, solar concentration and heat collection system, cold salt pump, hot salt pump Read More …

Webinar: Presentation of Blue Book of China’s CSP Industry 2021

Zoom Webinar: Presentation of Blue Book of China’s CSP Industry 2021 Date and Time: June 27, 2022, 14:00-14:45 CEST (Central European Summer Time) Agenda: Opening: Christoph Richter, Executive Secretary SolarPACES Introductory Comments: Zhifeng Wang, Chairman of China Solar Thermal Alliance Presentation of Blue Book 2021: Read More …

Cosin Breaks Ground on 100 MW CSP and Thermal Storage in Gansu Province

Jinta County, Gansu Province: The Jinta Zhongguang Solar Energy 100 MW Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project has broken ground, meeting the initial construction milestone by beginning concrete work for the receiver tower foundation. This 100MW CSP project was originally part of the first round of Read More …

1,500 MW of Glasspoint Solar Steam to Decarbonize Saudi Aluminum Production

[Ed: Their GlassPoint technology won the SolarPACES Technology Innovation Awardin 2016] From CSPFocus Saudi Arabia has signed an MOU with the California-based firm GlassPoint to build the world’s biggest solar thermal steam producing plant there. The facility will generate steam directly to make aluminum.  Aluminum Read More …

ACWA Power’s Redstone CSP Draws Down Debt in 9th Month of Construction

Acwa Power’s Redstone project  construction is well underway  and is currently in its ninth month of construction, with commercial operation scheduled to start in Q4 2023. The engineering works for the project is over 58% completed, whereas procurement and construction works stand at over 45% Read More …

The Economics of Running CSP as a Capacity Resource in the 100% Renewable Future

A new paper to be published in the journal Energy Conversion and Management: X: Using Concentrating-Solar-Power Plants as Economic Carbon-Free Capacity Resources – develops an approach to assessing the capacity contribution from CSP plants with thermal energy storage in a future Southwestern US grid once Read More …

Why Likana’s 24-Hour Solar Bid under $34/MWh Lost in Chile

At the annual SolarPACES Conference (held virtually for the second year) Cerro Dominador’s CEO Fernando Gonzalez answered questions from the international network of concentrated solar power (CSP) researchers and developers attending about exactly what happened in the recent Chilean energy auctions with the record-low bid Read More …

“Solar Power Around the Clock” report released by the German Association for Concentrated Solar Power (DCSP)

Since 2013, the German Association for Concentrated Solar Power has been committed to the generation and use of electricity, heat and fuels from concentrated solar technologies. Its members cover the entire CSP value chain. This ranges from project development and planning, engineering services, component supply Read More …

100 MW Redstone Solar with 12 Hours Daily Thermal Energy Storage Closes Financing

PRESS RELEASE ACWA Power has led South Africa’s largest renewable energy project Redstone CSP to financial close The ZAR 11.6 billion Redstone concentrated solar power (CSP) plant will power 200,000 households upon completion Commercial operation scheduled to start in Q4 2023 Johannesburg, South Africa, 10 Read More …

The Cerro Dominador CSP Project Has Synchronized to the Grid in Chile

Source: El Periódico de la Energía Ramon Roca 04/12/21 “We are proud of this new milestone in the development of our project. Having begun to deliver electricity to the National Electric System shows the reality and benefits of CSP technology. We know that the entry of a Read More …

Aalborg CSP to Retrofit Coal Plants into Thermal Energy Storage

Researchers at DLR, and NREL, and the Bill Gates-funded start-up Malta have been investigating converting coal plants into grid-scale thermal energy storage for curtailed intermittent renewable energy, as low-cost heat “batteries.” (Thermal energy storage was originally developed as storage for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), but Read More …

EuroTrough Helped Cut Ramp-Up Time of China’s 100 MW Urat Trough CSP

Press Release: schlaich bergermann partner (sbp)  The German solar engineering consultancy schlaich bergermann partner (sbp) supplied the EuroTrough solar collector for the 100MW Urat CSP project in Inner Mongolia, the largest commercial parabolic trough project in China. The Urat project was developed and realized as part Read More …

In South Africa and Spain, CSP is Meeting or Exceeding Projected Operation Targets

South Africa’s Bokpoort performance has been “reliably excellent” SolarPACES spoke with Nandu Bhula who has been with the team responsible for the success of ACWA Power’s 50 MW Bokpoort trough Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant in South Africa since the start, first as CEO while Read More …

World’s First Utility-Scale Molten Salt Fresnel CSP Plant Connects to China’s Grid

The China Dunhuang Dacheng 50MW molten salt linear Fresnel CSP project plant has now officially begun commercial operation on June 19, 2020. To celebrate the occasion of commercial operation of the first ever molten salt Fresnel CSP occasion, the developers and contractors held a commissioning Read More …

Rebirth of SolarReserve’s 450 MW Likana Brings CSP Supply Chain Hope for Chile

This week, the Cerro Dominador Group/EIG Global Energy Partners bought the Likana Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project from US-based SolarReserve, which was unable to complete the project. SolarReserve had already developed Likana by accomplishing the preliminary work of siting and monitoring local DNI and taking Read More …

Sodium-based Vast Solar Combines the Best of Trough & Tower CSP to Win our Innovation Award

At the 2019 SolarPACES Conference, Vast Solar took the SolarPACES Technical Innovation Award for their use of high temperature sodium-based HTF in tower CSP, presented in their paper: Vast Solar: improving performance and reducing cost and risk using high temperature modular arrays and sodium heat Read More …

China to Finance and Shanghai Electric to Build CSP for ACWA Power’s 950MW Dubai Solar Plant

EPC Contract with Shanghai Electric to Develop 700 MW DEWA CSP Project Signed in China ACWA Power Apr 15, 2018 DEWA and ACWA Power, in collaboration with Shanghai Electric, will undertake the 700 MW CSP portion of the 950 MW solar project in Dubai. Together Read More …

South Africa OKs Start-up of SENER’s Day-to-Night Solar Thermal Energy: Ilanga-1

Ilanga-1 has been certified to initiate commercial operation of its day-into-night solar CSP facility, now that construction, commissioning and testing is complete Press Release: Johannesburg (South Africa), 5 December 2018 – SENER, global engineering and technology group, together with its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) Read More …

Climate Policy that Actually Works: How Morocco is Meeting its Clean Energy Goals

An interview reveals Morocco’s secret: MASEN (the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy) is actually a renewable energy “one stop shop” – starting with climate policy, through needs assessment, planning, infrastructure development and finally structuring to mobilize project finance. Read More …

How CSP Works: Tower, Trough, Fresnel or Dish

In solar thermal energy, all concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies use solar thermal energy from sunlight to make power. A solar field of mirrors concentrates the sun’s energy onto a receiver that traps the heat and stores it in thermal energy storage till needed to Read More …

Current Job Openings in CSP Research and on CSP Projects

September 2023 Manager, Solar Thermal Testing and Demonstration We are seeking a highly motivated manager to lead the Solar Thermal Testing & Demonstration Department within the Renewable Energy Technologies Group (Org 8920). The Group conducts fundamental and applied R&D to improve performance, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness Read More …

China’s Shouhang and CNLNPC to Invest $2.3 Billion (USD) in CSP

CSP Plaza is reporting: Beijing Shouhang IHW Resources Saving Technology Co., Ltd. just signed a Cooperation Framework Agreement on Jointly Developing CSP Business with CNNP Liaoning Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (CNLNPC). In the announcement posted late night the same day the agreement is signed, Shouhang cites to Read More …

SolarPACES Guideline for Bankable STE Yield Assessment

SolarPACES Guideline for Bankable STE Yield Assessment

(PDF) SolarPACES Guideline for Bankable STE Yield Assessment Version 2017 (XLS) SolarPACES Guideline for Bankable STE Yield Assessment Checklist (PDF) SolarPACES Guideline for Bankable STE Yield Assessment, Appendix T, Terminology, Version 2017 Solar thermal energy (STE), often named Concentrating Solar  Power (CSP), is expected to Read More …

China

SolarPACES Member Country: ExCo Representative, Vice-Chair Zhifeng Wang Head of Solar Thermal Energy and Photovoltaic Systems Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Science zhifeng(at)vip.sina.com ExCo Alternate Sun Honghang Vice Director Divison of Energy and Transport Ministry of Science and Technology sunhh(at)most.cn

USA

Latest Online: 2015 Crescent Dunes: 110 MW SolarPACES-NREL database: All plant details on this CSP project 110 MW Crescent Dunes, tower CSP with 10 hours of storage, operational 2015-2019, and since 2021 Latest CSP in Development Sandia Gen-3 Particle-based CSP Research by the DOE has resulted Read More …

South Africa

Latest in Construction: 2023 Redstone Tower CSP: 100 MW SolarPACES-NREL database: All plant details on this CSP project All CSP Projects: SolarPACES-NREL database – All projects in South Africa CSP Potential South Africa’s first solar tower plant: 50 MW Khi Solar 1 operational since early 2016 Read More …

Morocco

Latest Online: 2018 Ouarzazate NOOR I,II and III: 550 MW SolarPACES-NREL database: All plant details on this CSP project: NOOR I, NOOR II, and NOOR III Earliest Online: ISCC 20 MW inaugurated in 2013: Ain Beni Mathur CSP Potential Country data Morocco has set a target Read More …

Australia

Latest in Development: 2023 Vast Solar 30 MW CST (solar fuels production) Latest Online: 2016 Sundrop Farms 36 MW CST: SolarPACES-NREL database: All plant details on this CSP project The Sundrop project uses tower CSP for onsite greenhouse agricultural production since 2016. CSP for electricity Read More …

Potential for Solar Thermal Energy By Country

  CSP is best suited to the regions with the optimal Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) for CSP. The best DNI is found in high-insolation regions with clear air, free of particulates, that receive this solar irradiance at or above about 1800 kilowatt-hours per square meter Read More …

CSP Projects Around the World

CSP Projects Around the World

SolarPACES – NREL Database: Browse all CSP: detailed up-to-date data on all CSP projects around the world, under construction, operational or currently non-operational. SolarPACES acquires this data on concentrating solar power projects, working with each  SolarPACES member nation to help utilities, financiers, manufacturers, and anyone interested Read More …

How Concentrated Solar Power Works

How Concentrated Solar Power Works

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 Read More …

TASK I: Solar Thermal Electric Systems

TASK I: Solar Thermal Electric Systems

Operating Agent: Mike Wagner, University of Wisconsin, USA Published Task Reports Summary: SolarPACES Guideline for Bankable STE Yield Assessment Full paper (pdf): SolarPACES Guideline for Bankable STE Yield Assessment Version 2017 Full paper (pdf) Utility-Scale Parabolic Trough Solar Systems: Performance Acceptance Test Guidelines Full paper (pdf) Utility-Scale Read More …

About SolarPACES

About SolarPACES

SolarPACES (Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems) SolarPACES.org is the international network of researchers in concentrating solar power (CSP) refining a form of solar power that is dispatchable on demand because it includes thermal energy storage. The organization began in 1977 and today is increasingly Read More …