TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schöniger, Franziska
A1  - Thonig, Richard
A1  - Resch, Gustav
A1  - Lilliestam, Johan
T1  - Making the sun shine at night
BT  - comparing the cost of dispatchable concentrating solar power and photovoltaics with storage
JF  - Energy sources. B, Economics, planning and policy
N2  - Sustainable electricity systems need renewable and dispatchable energy sources. Solar energy is an abundant source of renewable energy globally which is, though, by nature only available during the day, and especially in clear weather conditions. We compare three technology configurations able to provide dispatchable solar power at times without sunshine: Photovoltaics (PV) combined with battery (BESS) or thermal energy storage (TES) and concentrating solar power (CSP) with TES. Modeling different periods without sunshine, we find that PV+BESS is competitive for shorter storage durations while CSP+TES gains economic advantages for longer storage periods (also over PV+TES). The corresponding tipping points lie at 2-3 hours (current cost), and 4-10 hours if expectations on future cost developments are taken into consideration. PV+TES becomes only more competitive than CSP+TES with immense additional cost reductions of PV. Hence, there remain distinct niches for two technologies: PV+BESS for short storage durations and CSP+TES for longer ones.
KW  - Concentrating solar power (CSP)
KW  - dispatchable renewable electricity
KW  - thermal energy storage
KW  - photovoltaics
KW  - utility-scale batteries
KW  - flexibility
KW  - energy system modeling
Y1  - 2021
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1080/15567249.2020.1843565
SN  - 1556-7249
SN  - 1556-7257
VL  - 16
IS  - 1
SP  - 55
EP  - 74
PB  - Taylor & Francis Group
CY  - Philadelphia
ER  -