Concentrated solar power: Current technologies, major innovative issues and applicability to West African countries

Xavier Py, Yao Azoumah and Régis Olives

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2013, vol. 18, issue C, 306-315

Abstract: Conventional Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies have been mainly developed during the eighties. They can be considered as similar to conventional thermal power processes in which the boiler has been replaced, at least partially, by a concentrated solar field producing the heat. After more than 20 years of reduced activity, they have recently taken advantage of an impressive removal at the beginning of the new XXIst century and are subjected today to an increasing industrial interest. Based on the inherited technologies, companies build currently plants in the range of 10–20MWe for central receiver CSP and 50MWe for solar trough CSP. According to the IEA, at least 630GWe of CSP should be installed in 2050 for only 700MWe available today and preferably in areas of high solar potential (the so-called solar belt). Before this high potential, major issues have still to be overcome to enhance the performances and to adapt the technologies to the up to date constraints. In the present paper, the history and the technologies of the current CSP are presented, the major innovative issues described and the applicability to West African countries discussed. CSP standards proposed by developed countries are compared to the actual needs and potentials of West African countries.

Keywords: Solar energy; Concentrating solar power (CSP); West African countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (27)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032112005722
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:rensus:v:18:y:2013:i:c:p:306-315

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 600126/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2012.10.030

Access Statistics for this article

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews is currently edited by L. Kazmerski

More articles in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().