Can concentrating solar thermal technology be a cost-effective source of industrial process heat?

New analysis is presented identifying strong potential for Concentrating Solar Thermal technology (CST) to be a cost-effective contributor to future sources of net zero-emissions, high temperature industrial process heat relative to other emerging options.

What is a solarcontainer?

The Solarcontainer is a photovoltaic power plant that was specially developed as a mobile power generator with collapsible PV modules as a mobile solar system, a grid-independent solution represents. Solar panels lay flat on the ground. This position ensures maximum energy harvest Panels lays flat on the ground.

How many installers does a solarcontainer need?

At least 3-4 installers and 1 crane operator are needed to put the Solarcontainer into operation within one day. How many households can one Solarcontainer supply with electricity?

How many households can a solar Container Supply?

Based on an average power consumption of a 4-person household of 4000 kWh per year and a location in Southern Germany, the solar container can supply approx. 32 households with climate-friendly electricity. At a location in Southern Europe it can even be up to 50 households due to the high solar radiation.

How complex is a solar thermal system?

The complexity of the system is compounded by the interdependence of the performance of each component, whichmakes it challenging to optimise. For example, the costs of integrating the solar thermal output to the industrial plant can be comparable with that of the heliostat field for a single tower at scales of 50MWth.

What is a solar thermal input?

This means that the majority of applications in the sector will require that the solar thermal input be provided to re-heat the heat-transfer media from temperatures that are already heated to at least some 600 °C, i.e. that the heat is added to the reactants at the highest temperature point in the cycle.