Concentrating Solar Power: A Multi-Billion Euro 'Green New Deal' to Save the Climate

The report, 'Global CSP Outlook 2009', outlines how under an advanced industry development scenario, concentrating solar power, could meet up to 7% of the world's projected power needs in 2030 and a full quarter by 2050.

"Solar Power plants are the next big thing in renewable energy," said Sven Teske, Renewable Energy Director from Greenpeace International and co-author of the report.  "After the wind industry took off in the mid 1990s and the solar photovoltaic technology started its boom about five years ago, CSP is now the third multi-billion dollar industry for clean power generation."

"We need this technology to fight climate change, up to 4.7 Gt CO2a year could be saved by 2050 - this is about 20% of the total reduction of energy-related carbon emissions needed to save the climate," Teske added.

Over the past five years the industry has expanded rapidly after re-launching to become a mass-produced and mainstream energy generation solution. The biggest projects are currently under construction in Spain and California.

Between 1985 and 1991, 354 MW capacity of CSP plants were installed in California. This, plus intensive research and development during the last 15 years, makes CSP even more efficient and is the foundation for the take-off of this technology," said Dr. Christoph Richter, DLR Scientist at the Plataforma Solar in Almeria/Spain and Executive Secretary of SolarPACES.

"CSP plants can deliver reliable industry-scale power supply around the clock due to storage technologies and hybrid operations within the power plant. We are another big player in the move towards a future power supply independent from fossil fuels," added José Nebrera, President of ESTELA.

TheGlobal CSP Outlook 2009is based on a reference scenario or 'business-as-usual' for world governments, as well as moderate and advanced scenarios based on realistic policies to support development. Under just a moderate scenario, the countries with the most sun resources could:

• create €11.1 billion (USD 14.4) investment in 2010, peaking at €92.5 billion in 2050
• create more than 200,000 jobs by 2020, and about 1.187 million in 2050
• save 148 million tonnes of CO2annually till 2020; rising to 2.1 billion tonnes in 2050.

To put these figures in perspective, the CO2generated by Australia alone is 394 million tonnes annually; Germany has annual CO2emission of 823 million tonnes - equal to the CO2emissions of the whole African continent.

Greenpeace and the Solar Industry are calling for a guaranteed sale price for electricity. Feed-in tariffs have been the most successful incentives for the development of renewable power world wide. Close cooperation between Europe, the Middle East and North Africa for technology and economic development needs to be put in place.