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by PhantomGremlin
3912 days ago
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I agree with you, in theory. Practically speaking there hasn't been a lot of large scale CSP done, and e.g. Ivanpah[1] has a lot of limitations and teething problems. It has no energy storage, and it needs to use natural gas for 4.5 hours each day during startup. As for your assertion that CSP has continued to grow, the one data point I linked to claims "little appetite" from California utilities for power from plants like that. One thing can probably both agree on is that CSP is a "go big or go home" technology. It's not suited for small scale deployments. Which makes it quite complementary to rooftop PV. [1] http://breakingenergy.com/2014/10/29/at-ivanpah-solar-power-... |
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Maybe not in the United States, but it has taken off in Spain (looking at Wikipedia I cited earlier, which is probably better suited to take advantage of it in theory since installations are near population centers). I see far more interest oversees than in the United States… which is not surprising considering all the entrenched players that simply don't have the influence to the same degree in other places.
I can agree with this statement to some degree: "It's not suited for small scale deployments. Which makes it quite complementary to rooftop PV.", but seeing how it's serving a need that PV has not been able to provide to date despite it all, I'd hardly say its "go big or go home", there's far more abundant sodium and potassium available in the earth's crust vs lithium.