Introduction to Solar CSP & its Coexistence with PV

Note: The course can be attended as a stand-alone session but also provides an excellent way to introduce yourself to or refresh your knowledge of Solar CSP before attending the "Solar Power Generation USA" conference on the following days.

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Course highlights

• The technical options for CSP (concentrated solar power/thermal) and their current status
• What benefits might CSP bring that PV cannot? (And what are its biggest problems?)
• The practicalities of planning siting and permitting CSP power plants
• The main subsystems of CSP plants and how they are evolving

This unique, 1-day course will provide attendees with a thorough introduction to the workings of solar CSP power plants, focusing in particular on how CSP stacks up as a power generating solution relative to perhaps its biggest competitor: solar PV. This examination will explain key technology and plant build parameters, but include specific focus on how these and other factors impact the business case for CSP within the present and future renewable power mix.

Audience

Although describing technological principles, this course assumes no prior technical expertise and is aimed at business people from various job functions and company types, including:

• Business & Strategy Development, Financial & Investment Planning, Policymaking, Product Planning, Project Management, Senior Corporate Management, Sales & Marketing

from

• Utilities, Power Generating Companies, Government Agencies, Banks and other Investors, Grid Operators, Technology Suppliers, Solar Project Developers

All Green Power Academy courses run in an informal and extremely interactive manner, encouraging discussion and questions, to ensure that participants get the most value from the day.

Level & Style

We assume no prior financial expertise for this course, which seeks to provide clarity to what can be a complex and interconnected series of economic influences.

The course runs in a friendly, informal manner, encouraging discussions and questions to ensure that participants get the most out of their time. In order to better understand and illustrate the various topics, some simple calculations and other explanatory exercises may be incorporated.

Approximate Timings    (include lunch plus morning and afternoon refreshment breaks):
 09:00 - 17:00  

 “Very solid introduction from a very knowledgeable instructor”

“Rich in discussion” 

“Good balance between theoretical and interactive”

Agenda Details

Fundamental principles for understanding CSP (and its comparison to PV)

• Important properties of thermal energy:
  • Heat transfer
  • Thermodynamics
  • "Heat engines" & power generating cycles
  • Water use
  • Energy vs. Power, including capacity factors and implication for RPS creation
• Types of Solar insolation: Global horizontal, diffuse, DNI etc.

CSP Systems

• Different classes of concentrator and their properties (e.g. temperatures and restrictions)
• Is higher concentration always a good thing?
• Collecting, transporting and storing thermal energy, plus the power block
• Describing the functions and weaknesses of each subsystem
• Relative sizing of subsystems – why this is critical
• Hybrid systems

CSP Costs & Economics

• Costs (Capex and Opex)
• Capex vs. Levelized Cost (LCOE)
• CSP versus other solar costs (PV) and versus other thermal costs (conventional generation)
• Cost breakdowns by subsystem - and where improvements can be made
• The economic impacts of hybridization and storage

Siting & Installation issues

• Interfacing with Utilities
• Dispatchability and time-of-day pricing
• Access to transmission
• Land and water use: including controversies, myths and realities

Summary

• Current and future markets for CSP worldwide
• The bankability of CSP vs. PV