CONCENTRATING SOLAR POWER

A story from Ireland-On-Line highlights a report from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety about solar energy:

New solar power much cheaper than oil, says report

…The report…supports the gradual replacement of old power plants that rely on dwindling supplies of fuel with a greater range of non-polluting sources of energy.
“Every year, each square kilometre of desert receives solar energy equivalent to 1.5m barrels of oil,” said the study’s project manager, Dr Franz Trieb…"We can tap in to this energy by using mirrors to concentrate sunlight and create heat…This kind of ‘concentrating solar power’ (CSP) — which is very different from the better-known photovoltaic ‘solar panels’ — has been producing electricity successfully in California for nearly twenty years…"The cost of collecting solar thermal energy equivalent to one barrel of oil is about $50 (€39) right now - already less than the current world price of oil. This is likely to come down to around $20 (€15.61) in future.”

Here is the U.S. Department of Energy’s report on Concentrating Solar Power.