CSP Doesn’t Compete With PV – it Competes with Gas
CSP (concentrated solar power) used in a solar thermal power plant to generate electricity is often portrayed as competing with solar PV, but in fact, CSP really competes with the other thermal power plants like natural gas that supply dispatchable electricity.
PV is not dispatchable. PV only runs when the sun shines. CSP can be dispatched on demand, more like turning on a switch to get solar. So CSP doesn’t compete with PV. Here’s how that works:
Although CSP makes solar electricity by harvesting sunlight like PV, it operates more like a conventional power plant. Once the sunlight is collected as heat, (see How the various solar thermal technologies do that) the “back end” – the power block – works the same as any other thermal energy power station.
Coal, natural gas, and nuclear power plants all operate on thermal energy, but must burn a fuel to make electricity.
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Atlantis Viewpoint
As we can see, CSP plants have almost only pros. In contrast with a finite fuel like gas or coal or oil that must be dug up from the earth with huge damaging mines, simply to be burnt to make electricity – Where as CSP harnesses sunlight that is an endless stream of energy to the Earth that will continue for millennia. We can also take advantage of the green hydrogen and fresh water that CSP plants can produce, I am sure you will agree a far better option that creating Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission, air pollution and radioactive waste.
We believe in smart solutions and CSP seems like the smartest one when talking about our future source of energy. None of the other old dirty fossil type power plants should be built when we have this technology in our hands. True clean energy is the only way to guarantee a clean world that we can live in, so let’s start taking advantage of it!