Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) Market Trends

Growth Drivers

• Growing Demand for Renewable Energy- On generating power with solar panels, no greenhouse gas emissions are sent into the atmosphere. Therefore, the need for concentrated solar power is becoming imperative in the polluted world. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, the most capacity expansion of any renewable energy source happened in 2020 when new solar PV capacity increased by almost 125 GW globally.

• Increasing Depletion of Fossil Fuels – The current global energy demand, fossil fuels cannot regenerate themselves quickly enough to fulfill these rising demands. The over-consumption of these non-renewable fuels has led to the need for more renewable energy to be developed. To avoid a potentially devastating rise in global temperatures, countries must limit their output of fossil fuels by 6% per year between 2020 and 2030, according to a United Nations-backed report.

• Rising Demand for Fresh Water – The Sun heats the saltwater in the desalination machine, turning it to water vapor The Sun heats the saltwater in the desalination machine, turning it to water vapor, and condenses back to liquid as fresh water in a separate collection container. Over 40% of water bodies were very polluted, according to a UN Environment Programme examination of 75,000 water bodies in 89 nations. Furthermore, 2.3 billion people globally live in water-stressed areas.  
• Growing Extraction of Oil – Essential oil extraction by distillation requires heat in the medium temperature range, which can be supplied by a solar thermal system. Moreover, it is also used for enhanced oil recovery of the extracted oil. In 2020, the daily global demand for oil was around 91 barrels, but by 2021, it had risen to nearly 97 million barrels.
• Rising Government Efforts to Boost Renewable Energy –Proactive government initiatives are expected to boost the production of concentrated solar power in the world. In December 2022, the Government of India, Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), and the World Bank signed agreements for a USD 150 million International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan, a USD 28 million Clean Technology Fund (CTF) loan, and a USD 22 million CTF grant to help India increase its power generation capacity through cleaner, renewable energy sources.

Challenges

• The Setup of Solar Panels is Expensive - CSP plants, such as solar PV and wind power, require a considerable amount of land to operate. CSP plants are only economically viable in sites with direct normal irradiation above 1800 kWh/m2/year, such as vast open fields and desert areas. Therefore, it makes concentrated solar panels costly in densely populated areas. Moreover, concentrated solar power makes extensive use of water to generate steam turbines and cool thermochemical reactors.

• Concentrated Solar Power Consumes a Lot of Water

• Presence of Other Alternatives, such as Fission-Based Nuclear Power