Comparative Study of Concentrated Solar Power Technologies for Storage and Location.

Renewable energy sources allow us to address climate change, as they cannot be depleted. The most common forms of Renewable Energy are solar, wind, Hydropower, and Geothermal. This paper will focus solely on Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), a form of solar power. This research was conducted to provide more insight into renewable energy sources, specifically Concentrated Solar Power. In addition, this study seeks to determine the potential of different CSP technologies in the USA. Through the System Advisory Model, simulations on three CSP technologies (Parabolic Trough, Power Tower, and Linear Fresnel Systems) were carried out for eight locations (San Bernardino, CA; Barstow, CA; Blythe, CA; Nye County, NV; Boulder City, Nevada; Harper Lake, CA; Indiantown, FL; and Kramer Junction, CA) at four different storage capacities (0, 4, 8, and 12 hours). Results indicated that the Power Tower system produced the highest energy levels regardless of location. The 8-hour and 12-hour storage produced better results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]