Deployment Potential of Concentrating Solar Power Technologies in California

Chad Augustine, Sarah Awara, Hank Price and Alexander Zolan ()
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Chad Augustine: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Sarah Awara: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Hank Price: Solar Dynamics, LLC, Broomfield, CO 80020, USA
Alexander Zolan: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-20

Abstract: As states within the United States respond to future grid development goals, there is a growing demand for reliable and resilient nighttime generation that can be addressed by low-cost, long-duration energy storage solutions. This report studies the potential of including concentrating solar power (CSP) in the technology mix to support California’s goals as defined in Senate Bill 100. A joint agency report study that determined potential pathways to achieve the renewable portfolio standard set by the bill did not include CSP, and our work provides information that could be used as a follow-up. This study uses a capacity expansion model configured to have nodal spatial fidelity in California and balancing-area fidelity in the Western Interconnection outside of California. The authors discovered that by applying current technology cost projections CSP fulfills nearly 15% of the annual load while representing just 6% of total installed capacity in 2045, replacing approximately 30 GWe of wind, solar PV, and standalone batteries compared to a scenario without CSP included. The deployment of CSP in the results is sensitive to the technology’s cost, which highlights the importance of meeting cost targets in 2030 and beyond to enable the technology’s potential contribution to California’s carbon reduction goals.

Keywords: concentrating solar power; grid expansion planning; California Senate Bill 100; molten-salt power tower; thermal energy storage; long-duration energy storage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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