this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2024
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They built a couple of this near Las Vegas in Nevada, USA. The cost of construction was very high as was the cost of maintenance. They were only used while the research was ongoing as the power was never economical to produce. In fact, it would would have been the single most expensive source in the state.
Solar PV and wind on the other hand are some of the cheapest sources. With today's tech, grid connected batteries make even more sense than concentrated solar thermal and molten salt.
According to the video, concentrated solar's costs have come down since those plants near Las Vegas were built, but it's still about 2x more than photovoltaic.
According to that wikipedia article, the Las Vegas plants require substantial amounts of natural gas heat to keep the salt temps up so it'll function into the next day, which the video didn't mention, so now I'm wondering if that requirement has been eliminated from other designs?
I think ultimately you're right in that batteries will serve the need better, especially once cheap sodium batteries become mass-produced for those purposes.
There is also one in Spain, near Sevilla - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemasolar_Thermosolar_Plant
Is it economical to run it in Spain? Or is it also a tech demonstration/research at this point?
I would like to see someone figure out how to make it viable, but I have not heard of anyone doing so yet.
It's been in commercial operation ever since it started operating, and the company running it have since started two more solar projects in Spain, so I'd say it is economical.
Kinda makes sense, Spain, and especially southern Spain, where these are located, is getting a lot of sun all year.