CSP with storage 'could add value for utility companies'

The report is said to have found that CSP with a six-hour storage capacity can lower peak net loads (the normal load minus variable renewables) when the sun is not shining — enough to add $35.80 (£22.33) per megawatt-hour to the capacity and operational value of the utility compared with photovoltaic (PV) solar power alone, and even higher extra value when compared with CSP without storage.

According to a statement, the additional value comes because thermal storage allows CSP to displace more expensive gas-fired generation during peak loads, rather than displacing lower-priced coal, and because it can continue to flatten the peak load in the evenings when PV is not contributing to the mix as the sun has set.

The report, ‘Simulating the value of concentrating solar power with thermal energy storage in a production cost model’, by NREL’s Paul Denholm and Marissa Hummon, noted that the $35.80-per-megawatt extra value would come in a scenario in which there is relatively high penetration of renewables into the utility’s mix — about 34 per cent. If the penetration was lower, the extra value would be lessened.