Global Concentrated Solar Power Market Overview

Global Concentrated Solar Power Market was valued at USD 7.60 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach USD 14.83 billion by the year 2032, at a CAGR of 7.71%

CSP technology uses mirrors to reflect sunlight and focus on the receiver. The concentrated solar energy heats the hot liquid in the receiver from heat is heat generated, also known as thermal energy, which can be used to turn turbines and drive engines to generate electricity. It can also be used in a variety of industrial applications, including Water desalination, improved oil recovery, food processing, chemical production, and mineral processing. Concentrated Solar Power plants are typically used for power plant projects. These utility-scale CSP systems can be configured in different ways. The electric pylon system places a mirror around the central tower that acts as a receiver. The linear system has a row of mirrors that focus sunlight on a parallel tube receiver placed on top of it. Small CSP systems can be placed directly where power is needed. For example, a single bowl-motor system can generate 5-25 kW of power per bowl and can be used in distributed applications. Growing need of clean energy is expected to boost the Concentrated Solar Pawer Market.

Market Dynamics And Factors For Solar Power Market

Drivers:

Demand for clean energy has grown significantly as leading developed countries pledged to reduce carbon emission to meet the goals of the zero-carbon economies.  Solar energy outperforms biomass energy and is a major source of renewable energy, leading to investments in countries such as India, the United States, China, and Italy to install and generate electricity using solar power. The US market grew in 2019 as it supported government regulations and initiatives such as All concentrating solar projects recently built in the United States are funded by the US Department of Energy's Loan Guarantee Program (DOE). The global CSP market is expected to grow rapidly over the forecast period due to the need to reduce CO2 emissions in the troposphere. Photovoltaic power generation is used as an inexpensive power source, helping to reduce energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions. The SP is a highly capital-intensive technology. The components used in the parabolic trough are the power unit, solar field, heat transfer system, and thermal energy storage. The main components used in a solar tower are the receiver field, heliostat field, thermal energy storage, tower, and power block. The LCOE of a CSP plant is dependent on the project reserve cost. This is about four-fifths of the total cost. The rest are facility operation, maintenance, and insurance costs, which pose a to be costly.

Restraints:

Concentration Solar Power projects involve massive construction and installation. Concentration Solar Power requires customized and large high-performance equipment such as parabolic U mirrors, linear concentrator system, Heat transfer fluid tubes, steam turbines, and large open space which carries enormous construction and maintenance costs. Concentration Solar Power Projects are generally established with government supports and big conglomerates in the energy sector. Government grants and supports such as the U.S. Department of Energy are funding CSP research projects under its SunShot Initiative to drive down the cost of solar electricity and support solar adoption. Although Concentration Solar Power provides a clean energy alternative, high construction and installation cost restricts the entry for small players and developing countries.

Opportunities:

CSP has a significant competitive advantage over other renewable energies. As renewable energies that cannot be provided become more widespread, the grid becomes less flexible and the need for systems that can separate weather-dependent power generation from demand increases. Expansion of CSP systems with heat storage systems opens up new business opportunities for CSPs with TES to provide such services to network operators. If the power generation cost of a solar or onshore wind power plant includes an additional storage system with a large battery, this is because the heat storage of the CSP system has already been incorporated, so the power production cost of TES.

CSPs can be used to power the industry and process heat. In many industries, the manufacturing process requires a massive amount of heat. Current solar heat generators for industrial processes are concentrated in low to medium-temperature industries up to 400 ° C. Typical processes suitable for solar heat integration are drying, cleaning, fermentation, and steam generation of food or products. The high-temperature solar system paves the way for the use of concentrating solar heat (CSH), high-temperature industrial processes, or the preheating stage of high-temperature processes.

Challenges:

Concentration Solar Power projects require large disposable land at a remote location according to the spread of sunlight in the region. Availability of suitable land is a major challenge for the Concentrated Solar Power Market. Open space with a substantial amount of sunlight with installation space for parabolic panels and turbine installation area which need to be close by the panels. Also, energy storage facilities, as well as transportation, are a key factor for the concentrated Solar Power Market. Also, Thermal to electric technologies are insufficient to handle a heavy surge of electricity which can damage the equipment, Small steam turbines reduce efficiency, and Routinely start and shut down process reduces the lifespan of equipment and machinery. Moreover, Thermal turbines required heavy water usage which can lead to excessive water consumption.  

Market Segmentation

Segmentation Analysis of Concentrated Solar Power Market:

By Technology, Parabolic Trough is dominating the Concentrated Solar Power Market. Parabolic Trough is a widely used technology in the Concentrated Solar Power Market. More than 80% of CSP plants use Parabolic Trough due to the low cost and currently the cheapest source. Parabolic troughs produce very high temperatures suitable for steam production. The heat storage in the insulation tank can supply electricity at night.  Solar power is expensive and parabolic troughs with cheaper mirrors can cover more areas with minimal cost and high efficiency in the operation. The Power Tower is also widely used technology mainly in the United States. Power Tower provides economically valuable products, improved designs, and many other supports during the planning period. Installation power is expected to increase further. Power tower technology on the market is widely used, especially in countries where land is available. This is because a large area is a standard for installing a power tower.

By Operation Type, Standalone systems are dominating in the Concentrated Solar Power Market. Standalone systems are set up without the storage capacity of excess electricity. Mainly Concentrated Solar Power plants produce and transfer the power via high tension cables to nearby locations. Direct energy dispensing can save the additional cost of storage infrastructure and maintaining inventory costs in power stations. Most of the previously built power plants are based on standalone systems. As storage capacity infrastructure technology evolved, new generation storage enables the low cost of infrastructure set up and maximum storage capacity which are being integrated into new CSP plants. New business opportunity for thermal energy storage opens the doors for new entrants to provide high-end energy storage options to such power plants. Therefore, it reflects on the overall growth of the Concentrated Solar Power Market.

By Capacity, 100 MW above is dominating in the Concentrated Solar Power Market. There is an increasing need to focus on PV technology to meet renewable energy production and ongoing operational goals and create a market of 100 MW or more during the forecast period. There are around 50+ mega capacity 100 MW above plants are operational in Spain, South Africa, Morocco, China, India, Egypt, USA, and UAE. Projects like Noor Ouarzazate I, II, and III (510 megawatts) [MW] CSP), Noor Midelt (800 MW CSP-PV hybrid) in Morocco, Cerro Dominador (110 MW CSP) in Chile are among the highest dispensing energy plants which drive the growth of the Concentrated Solar Power Market globally.

By End User, Residential is the dominating segment in the Concentrated Solar Power Market. CSP projects are generally built at remote locations with ample open land and access to direct sunlight. Concentrated Solar Power projects generate around 50 – 800 MW of electricity which is transported to nearby towns and communities. Clean energy created a positive environmental impact and creates social value among local communities. CSP use in industrial applications is yet to be picked up due to high and constant demand from industries which can be a challenging factor for solar projects to provide at dusky weather. Hence Residential application is boosting the growth of the Concentrated Solar Power Market.

Regional Analysis of Concentrated Solar Power Market:

The European region is the dominating in the Concentrated Solar Power Market. According to the World Bank Report on CSP – clean power of demand, Spain contributes majorly in the European region in terms of operational Concentrated Solar Power plants. Spain occupies around 45 operational concentrated solar power plants with an averagely of 50 MW capacity which contributes majorly in terms of providing clean energy in most of Spain reducing energy cost and zero-emission.   A Spanish project partner advised the government by providing scientific support for Spain's CSP expansion policy. Specifically, CIEMAT advised on the development of the energy planning tool TIMES- SINERGIA, which was used to develop the National Energy and Climate Program (NECP), and the incorporation of CSP technology. In addition, MUSTEC partner CSIC was requested by the government to advise on the design of renewable energy auctions, including special considerations for switchable power sources such as CSP.  Therefore, healthy government and private player relationship and looking at the success of Spain, many European countries like Netherlands, Germany, France, and Belgium are investing in the development of such projects which is anticipated to boost the Concentrated Solar Power Market in European Region.

The Asia Pacific is one of the fastest-growing region Concentrated Solar Power Market. China is expected to grow significantly from 2020 to 2027. This is primarily due to increased investment in concentrating solar energy to ease network locations, which is driving the market. In addition, the need to continuously generate renewable energy to support tax increases is driving market growth in the region. India and China have more than 20 operational CSP plants with an average capacity of 50 MW. The growing need is of clean energy pushed the government to act on such projects boosting the market in Asia pacific.

North America also presents the bight opportunity for the Concentrated Solar Power Market as mega collar projects are being set up in the United States and Mexico. North America is having 14 high-capacity concentrated solar power plants with a capacity of more than 200 MW. Morocco, UAE, and SOUTH Africa are the fastest adopting countries of Concentrated Solar Power which is expected to boost the Concentrated Solar Power Market globally.

Players Covered in Concentrated Solar Power Market are:

• Abengoa
• BrightSource Energy
• ACWA Power
• Aalborg CSP
• and SolarReserve
• TSK Flagsol Engineering GmbH
• Alsolen
• Cobra Energia
• Torresol Energy
• Acciona Energy
• eSolar
• Enel Green Power

Key Industry Developments In Concentrated Solar Power Market

• May 2021, ACWA Power has led South Africa's largest renewable energy project Redstone CSP to a financial close which ensures 1.6 billion Redstone concentrated solar power (CSP) plant will power 200,000 households upon completion of a Commercial operation planned to start in Q4 2023.
• In May 2020, Abengoa formed a consortium with Acciona to build the Cerro Dominador solar thermal plant owned by EIG Global Energy Partners. The consortium has led the melting process of 46,000 tons of salts from the Chilean Atacama Desert having a capacity of 110 MW.