SOLAR POWER PLANTS IN THE WORLD

Global shifts in the concentrated solar power market underway
Rikki Stancich, 30 August 2010 (CSP Today)

"The CSP playing field has changed dramatically since the US’ lead in concentrated solar power technology back in the 1980’s – and as the global CSP market gathers momentum more radical changes are on the horizon…1762.42 MW of CSP projects are currently in the global pipeline…A further 89 plants are planned across 16 countries, representing a total of 14 GW of concentrated solar power capacity…

"…Spain currently dominates the market for installed capacity…[with] 432MW of [installed] CSP, compared to 422MW in the USA…Since July 2009 until now, Spain has [installed nine] plants with a total of 370 [operational] MW…All use parabolic trough technology, except…[one] which is a Power Tower…With 16 CSP plants currently under construction in Spain, representing 690 MW of solar capacity in the pipeline, and a further 2342 MW of pre-registered projects, it appears Spain has firmly reinforced its leadership position…[but] Spain is unlikely to continue to outpace the US in the longer term…"

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"…[T]he number of sites optimal for CSP project development [in Spain] is dwindling…[D]evelopers are now looking to tap other regions with a better solar resource, such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region…Uncertainty surrounding Spain’s feed-in tariffs has also shaken the CSP industry…

"The United States, on the other hand, is set to benefit from a raft of initiatives…introduced in response to the global recession…The deadline for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, for example, dictates that CSP projects must break ground by December 2010…[O]ver the next few years the US may gain on Spain's lead, with planned projects amounting to approximately 1.9 GW…"

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"The rest of the world has by no means been sitting idle. Markets in the MENA region, Australia and India are now beginning to take shape…Several CSP plants in the MENA region, all of which are integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) plants, are on-track to come online towards the end of 2010…India now has two 10 MW CSP plants under construction…[A] 10MW parabolic trough project will use molten salts as the heat transfer medium and to provide 8 hours of thermal energy storage…[and] Indian power company ACME is developing a 10MW solar tower…[with] eSolar…

"…[P]rojects are planned in 16 countries…[including 33 in] Spain…36 [in the U.S.]…2 for Israel…[13 in] the MENA…[5-to-13 in] India…[7 in] Australia…[and more in] South Africa…Portugal…France…and China…Attracting investment has been a major stumbling block…[but] a combination of support policies and sector-wide strategic investments are stoking investor confidence…Key mergers and acquisitions are also delineating the CSP market…[T]he CSP market is looking more robust than it did a year ago…[but] to maintain momentum, developers and investors will continue to rely on stable policy frameworks and government support mechanisms in the medium-term."