What are the advantages of using concentrating solar power (CSP) rather than other power generation technologies?
One key competitive advantage of CSP systems is that they closely resemble most of the nation’s current power plants in some important ways. For example, much of the equipment now used for conventional, centralized power plants running on fossil fuels can also be used for CSP plants. CSP simply substitutes the use of concentrated solar power rather than combustible fossil fuels to produce electricity. This “evolutionary” — in contrast to “revolutionary” or “disruptive” — aspect means CSP can be integrated fairly easily into today’s electric utility grid. It also makes CSP technologies the most cost-effective solar option for large-scale electricity generation. For example, CSP can make a significant contribution to the increasing need for affordable electricity in California and other “sunshine” states. The nine Solar Energy Generating Station (SEGS) plants in southern California were constructed in less than a year each, and the final two plants each had a capacity of 80 megawatts. Th
