Deployment Potential of Concentrating Solar Power Technologies in California

Journal Article · Tue Sep 30 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · Sustainability

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/su17198785· OSTI ID:3013271

Augustine, Chad ^[1]; Awara, Sarah ^[1]; Price, Hank ^[2]; Zolan, Alexander ^[1]

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1. National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)
2. Solar Dynamics

As states within the United States respond to future grid development goals, there is a growing demand for reliable and resilient nighttime generation that can be addressed by low-cost, long-duration energy storage solutions. This report studies the potential of including concentrating solar power (CSP) in the technology mix to support California's goals as defined in Senate Bill 100. A joint agency report study that determined potential pathways to achieve the renewable portfolio standard set by the bill did not include CSP, and our work provides information that could be used as a follow-up. This study uses a capacity expansion model configured to have nodal spatial fidelity in California and balancing-area fidelity in the Western Interconnection outside of California. The authors discovered that by applying current technology cost projections CSP fulfills nearly 15% of the annual load while representing just 6% of total installed capacity in 2045, replacing approximately 30 GWe of wind, solar PV, and standalone batteries compared to a scenario without CSP included. The deployment of CSP in the results is sensitive to the technology's cost, which highlights the importance of meeting cost targets in 2030 and beyond to enable the technology's potential contribution to California's carbon reduction goals.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 3013271
• Report Number(s): NREL/JA-5700-94585
• Journal Information: Sustainability, Journal Name: Sustainability Journal Issue: 19 Vol. 17
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
California Senate Bill 100
concentrating solar power
grid expansion planning
long-duration energy storage
molten-salt power tower
thermal energy storage