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Economic assessment of concentrated solar power technologies: A review

Abstract:

This paper surveys economic assessments of concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies and finds two dominant assessment methods. A majority of studies reported in the literature are based on the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), while a small subset of studies consider time-varying meteorological and electricity market conditions. Several studies argue that LCOE undervalues dynamic flexibility provided by thermal energy storage and does not consider revenue opportunities provided by electricity markets at different time scales. As a result, some studies find that both LCOE and revenue can in fact be conflicting metrics for certain designs and market conditions. This review finds strong variations in LCOE and revenue estimates in the literature. As comparisons between CSP and other generation technologies (e.g., fossil, wind, and photovoltaic) are dictated by the chosen economic metric, it is imperative that policy and investment decisions should carefully consider time-varying effects and flexibility. Finally, research directions are proposed to increasing the fidelity of economic assessments and to mitigate discrepancies.