PV or ST: have I got my sums right

[SteamyTea]

Read this about the worlds largest solar thermal generator.

https://www.riazor.org/news/ivanpah-solar-plant-mojave-desert/2929/

 

Now I love a decent engineering project, but I hate pointless systems.

 

So I did some sums.

 

This system will produce around 240 kWh.m^-2.year^-1.

An installed capacity PV system at 200 W.m^-2 would produce 455 kWh.m^-2.year^-1.

 

Why bother with this idea when PV is cheaper and easier to deploy.

Edited December 23, 2024 by SteamyTea

[JohnMo]

1 hour ago, SteamyTea said:

Why bother with this idea when PV is cheaper and easier to deploy

Maybe been on the pipeline of development for the last ten years, and no-one bothered revaluation of the costs - too much head time gone in to the development, so became a must do, instead of a could do project.

[SteamyTea]

19 minutes ago, JohnMo said:

Maybe been on the pipeline of development for the last ten years, and no-one bothered revaluation of the costs - too much head time gone in to the development, so became a must do, instead of a could do project.

There is one advantage in that some of the energy can be stored thermally and used 'after hours'.

But that can be done with PV as well, I am surprised that no one has tried to run a low temperature turbine off stored PV generated thermal energy (ammonia is a useful working fluid for LT turbines).

[joe90]

I don’t know about the sums but this made sense…

 

includes natural gas-fired steam boilers to guarantee continuous operation when there is low sunlight or during cloudy days.