Concentrated Solar Power Plants with Molten Salt Storage: Economic Aspects and Perspectives in the European Union

Concentrated solar power plants belong to the category of clean sources of renewable energy. The paper discusses the possibilities for the use of molten salts as storage in modern CSP plants. Besides increasing efficiency, it may also shift their area of application: thanks to increased controllability, they may now be used not only to cover …

Researchers Explore Coating for Tanks Holding Molten Salts

The next-generation of concentrated solar power plants will require high-temperature fluids, such as molten salts in the range of 550 to 750°C, to store heat and generate electricity. At those temperatures, however, molten salts eat away at common alloys used in heat exchangers, piping, and storage vessels of so-called concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. Engineers …

Concentrated solar power plants to produce electricity at night thanks to storage technology

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems can boost the conversion of solar thermal into electricity. They allow the efficient storage of heat during the day so that electricity production continues at night. Currently, the expansion of small and midsized concentrated solar power plants is limited because of the shortage of tailor-made TES systems. TES plays a …