investment costs

This report focuses on the use of solar thermal hot water in the tourism business. With green tourism becoming more prevalent, this paper highlights solar thermal’s potential applications in the business of relaxation.

This is a presentation from the Mexican Non-Conventional Energy Management Electric Power Research Institute aimed at describing the perspectives of using concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies, and the implications stemming from this choice. It was made during the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) Electricity Workshop held in Paraguay in May 2010.

This presentation, prepared by Leonardo Energy, describes and discusses ways to improve solar thermal storage technologies, notably melted salt and concrete storage. The improvement of these technologies would allow a better profit of the energy produced by power plants.

This study from 2008 assesses the economic impact of solar thermal electricity in Spain. In particular, the economic analysis is done for three solar thermal technologies: parabolic trough, central tower and parabolic dish. The objective of the conducted study is to estimate the socio-economic impacts coming from the construction of solar thermal power plants in Spain.

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Source: CIEMAT

This document from 2008 gives a comprehensive overview of CSP development in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The paper first looks into the key drivers and key inhibitors that impact the growth of CSP. Particular attention is given to the cost factor of CSP such as initial investment costs and the operating & maintenance costs.

Commercial applications are on the rise in Poland: “Big building societies, hotels and hospitals are investing in solar thermal systems,” confirms export manager Jacek Paluch of the collector manufacturer Watt.
Photo: Watt

Feeding directly into the district heating system of the Austrian city of Graz: The collector fields are mounted on four different hall roofs belonging to the AEVG, a municipal waste disposal company.

Photo: S.O.L.I.D. / Oberländer