Molten Salt Solar Energy Thermal Storage and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Market Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2010 to 2016
This new study on Molten Salt Solar Energy Thermal Storage and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP): Market Shares and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2010-2016, has 309 pages, 103 tables and figures.
Large solar farms are part of the answer to implementing energy generated from capture of heat from the sun. Utility scale systems are complex implementations of aggregated capture devices. The value of utility scale build out is the sheer size of the projects.
It is easier to implement one large project in a controlled area than to implement multiple medium size project to achieve the same level of power generation. Molten salt solar energy storage systems implement utility scale solar electricity systems. The large scale provides replacement for coal systems and supplements nuclear systems that are not feasible in many locations. Solar concentrators are able to run conventional steam generators, leveraging existing technology for renewable energy electricity use. Corrosion is an issue. The pipes that carry the molten salt need to be corrosion resistant, otherwise they need to be replaced every year. Heat is another issue. The high heat of the salt may cause chemical decomposition of the solution, creating the need to replace the solution at relatively short intervals.
There is growing global demand for cost-effective and reliable solar power. Molten salt storage and solar electricity generation by use of steam turbines are poised to achieve significant growth. The economies of scale have not yet kicked in and will do so after 100 projects have been built out. The technology promises to be significant because the projects generate so much electricity.
Solar concentrators are efficient and leverage existing steam generation technology. The technology will succeed far faster and be far more wide spread that the vendor executives are now predicting. With rising prices of oil and the Gulf of Mexico oil well disaster, solar power begins to look good, because it is a sustainable energy source. Aggregation of electricity generated from solar panels placed on commercial roofs is another aspect of utility scale electricity generation. The commercial roof electricity can be sold from electricity substations to the locality for use in data centers, powering electric vehicles, and general electricity usage.
Solar energy market driving forces relate to the opportunity to harness a cheap, long lasting, powerful energy source. Solar energy can be used to create electricity in huge quantity. Solar panels are mounted in a weatherproof frame, are mounted in areas with direct exposure to the sun to generate electricity from sunlight.
Solar power systems are comprised of solar modules, related power electronics, and other components. Solar panels are used in residential, commercial and industrial applications. Solar compositions of arrays that comprise electric utility grids appear to be the wave of the future.
The demand for solar energy is dependent on a lower prices for solar and higher prices for petroleum. A combination of economies of scale being realized in the manufacturing along with increases in the current prices for petroleum will drive solar energy adoption.
The overall solar market has attained enough critical mass to boost competitive technologies of thin film and monocrystalline, polycrystalline, and multicrystalline silicon based systems.
Concentrated thermal solar molten salt storage units at a level below 0 million in 2009 are anticipated to reach .6 billion by 2016. Vendors are well positioned to gain significant market share over the next five years as existing products are tuned as second and third generation products to achieve more economies of scale.
Table Of contents
Molten Salt Solar Executive Summary
Molten Salt Storage of Solar Energy Executive Summary ES-1
Molten Salt Utility Scale Storage of Electricity From Solar Energy ES-1
Nanotechnology Promises To Be A Significant Aspect Of Solar Storage Market Evolution ES-2
Global Demand For Cost-Effective And Reliable Solar Power ES-2
Molten Salt Solar Utility Scale Steam Turbine Market Shares ES-3
Molten Salt Solar Utility Scale Energy Market Forecast ES-5
Molten Salt Solar Market Description And Market Dynamics
1. Molten Salt Thermal Storage and 1-1
1.1 Molten Salt Stores Solar Energy As Heat 1-1
1.1.1 Using Mirrors To Concentrate Sun Energy 1-2
1.1.2 Compressing Air Or Pumping Water Uphill To Store Sun's Energy 1-3
1.1.3 Round-Trip Efficiency 1-3
1.2 Molten Salt As Solar Heat Battery 1-3
1.2.1 Salt Storage System Potential Issues 1-5
1.3 Utility-Scale Thermal Concentrating Solar 1-6
1.3.1 Climate Change Is Predicted To Raise Global Sea Levels 1-8
1.4 Nuclear Power Plants 1-9
1.4.1 Impact of Changing Water Supplies 1-10
Frequently Asked Questions
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QUESTION:
what type can energy be saved in the concentrated solar power system?-
ANSWER:
Regular solar power systems convert solar energy into electricity which can be saved in the form of chemical energy (batteries).A concentrated solar power system converts solar energy into thermal energy which can be used to run generators, turbines or heat engines. Storage of such energy can be in the form of thermal, chemical or any other means by converting the energy.
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QUESTION:
Could concentrated solar thermal generate 25% of world power by 2050?
A new study by Greenpeace International, the European Solar Thermal Electricity Association and the International Energy Agency considers three different potential scenarios for concentrated solar power's (CSP) growth over the next few decades. In the third and most aggressive scenario, we could see CSP generating 25 percent of the world's electricity by 2050.The scenario includes increased investment in the technology to billion a year by 2015 and 3 billion a year by 2050. These investments would lead to installed CSP plant capacity of 1,500 GW by 2050. The second scenario saw more modest investment increases and a total capacity of 830 GW by 2050, still an impressive 12 percent of the world's energy needs. The first scenario assumed no investment increases at all, with CSP making up only 0.2 percent of the world's energy.
The technology has been taking off recently. Spain alone has 50 projects in the works and will be generating 2 GW from CSP by 2015. Worldwide, CSP currently makes up 436 MW and investments in the technology will reach about .8 billion this year. Based on current global plans, by 2017, close to 20 GW of CSP capacity will be installed.
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2770/83/
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/concentrating-solar-power-2009.pdfRealistically, how much of the world's power do you think CSP can generate by 2050?
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ANSWER:
Realistically? Don't ask me that. I'm a pessimist. To many political problems.Optimistically? Close to 100%. Easy. It's just a matter of will.
Balancing the two, 25% seems reasonable. But we are soon going to realize that 25% won't be enough.
We need to do something like this -
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=a-solar-grand-plan
- and we need to start now.
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QUESTION:
Do Concentrated Solar Plants heat Oil to high temps which create steam which power conventional turbines?
CSP does not rely on the sun to create power. They concentrate the sun to a fine poit which focuses on a line of fluid, heating it to a very high temperature, which creates steam which runs a turbine. Same as a cola plant accept instead of coal creating the steam, solar does the job. So you don't calculate the amount of power based on standard solar power calculations as you do with Solar PV roof panels. CSP is very efficient. Over 100 applications were made during Bush's term and all turned down? Why? It will reduce our reliance on Coal, which is profitable to coal manufacturers. The Oil/Coal/Gas/Nuclear industries do an excellent job of making sure most people don't understand the tru viability and advantages of Renewable Energy and all the different options. Why? They don't want a power shift away from the products they make a bundle on.-
ANSWER:
As of yet no alternative power source is without additional reactions that harm the environment. The type you are referring to utilizes water sources that are required to drink and produce food products, which by the way is not an endless source. Meaning any plant that uses CSP/thermal would require large amounts of water to create energy (steam), not oil except maybe to pump the water into the plant in order to convert it to energy. FYI, it also requires the SUN otherwise it is not a source of "solar" power. Other forms of CSP require large portions of land to set up several rows of solar panels to collect the solar energy. Every source of energy has its own down falls, sadly too many people have brilliant ideas that often end up being bad for the environment after millions have been spent to produce them.
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QUESTION:
Concentrated solar power (CSP) energy generation?
How do you calculate the amount of energy in one of these systems as related to the surface area of mirrors pointing at it?More specifically, how much surface area is needed to get to a certain temperature?
How much surface area to melt metal, like aluminum?-
ANSWER:
CSP generally refers to solar thermal installations but all solar energy must be concentrated. Photovoltaic energy is concentrated by placing them in a series.A power tower has mirrors
A parabolic dish has the dish
a parabolic trough has the trough
a solar chimney concentrates the energy in a chimney
a solar pond concentrates the energy without mirrors....In general insolation is fixed. Only so much energy strikes the Earth.1 If the reflecting surface is not on a tracking mechanism it will be at some angle to the sun which will reduce efficiency. The reflection has a certain efficiency based upon the quality of the reflection and the surface. The focus has a certain efficiency. The more narrow the focus the more the energy will be concentrated.
Let's say that the particular area has a 5 Kwh / sq meter / day insolation value for your type of tracking concentrator. Your reflection and concentration is 95% efficient and you have 20 sq meters of surface. Your target will be receiving (5 x 20) x .95 or 95 kwh of energy each day.
Now what are you heating? A cup of water or a 500 gallon per minute pipe of running water? 1 kwh = 3412 BTU. 1 BTU is the energy needed to raise 1# of water 1 deg F.
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QUESTION:
Can mirrors be used to concentrate solar power?
As in,aim beams of light at a solar panel or does it lose what it needs through the transition to supply power?
Holy shit I thought I was way out of line lol thanks!-
ANSWER:
Yes you can concentrate the sun light on to a solar panel, but as they have said the heat build up is some thing you must determine how to dissipate. The more you concentrate the solar energy the more heat must be handled.We are building a Solar Power Concentrator and you can see our progress at our blog.
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