Solar Thermal Technologies In Focus At Conference Backed By MNRE, NSEFI

New Delhi hosted the International Conference on Solar Thermal Technologies on Feb 12 and 13. Organised by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI), the conference focused on ways to integrate Solar Thermal and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) storage with Renewable Technologies. Driven by dropping costs and highr efficiencies in this segment of solar power, the conference sought to bring the global landscape in solar thermal technologies, their integration with renewable energy power generation sources, storage applications, and the potential of such applications in the Indian context. Concentrated solar power (CSP) is used to produce electricity (sometimes called solar thermoelectricity, usually generated through steam.

Concentrated solar technology systems use mirrors or lenses with tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight onto a small area. Concentrated light is then used as heat or as a heat source for a conventional power plant (solar thermoelectricity).

Secretary, New & Renewable Energy, Bhupinder Singh Bhalla spoke on the occasion, highlighting the need to explore new technologies to ensure enough green energy for India’s growing needs. 

Speaking at the event, SECI MD R P Gupta emphasized, “Solar thermal is slowly emerging as a promising solution, offering substantial advantages for long-duration energy storage” The present capability of solar thermal power to support India’s Firm and Dispatchable Renewable Energy (FDRE) requirements, including round-the-clock power supply, meeting the diverse demands of consumers was also discussed.

Speaker Tobias Winter, Director of Indo-German Energy Forum Support Office (IGEF-SO), shared in a social media post that concentrated Solar Power (CSP) in India at 6-7 INR / kWh exists only in theory, a tender is needed to discover the real tariff”. Perhaps expecting a significant drop, as seen in the case of PV power and wind in the past few years

Aligning with the discussion, a recent report by TERI sheds light on the importance of using concentrated solar power (CSP) plants to deliver power on demand, making it an attractive renewable energy storage technology, and concludes that various measures would be required to develop CSP in the country to reach the ambitious target of 500 GW by 2030.

Director General, NSEFI, Deepak Gupta discussed India’s solar photovoltaic (PV) revolution and advocated for exploring CSP to accelerate the nation’s energy transition, believing it could mark the beginning of a solar thermal revolution.”

Speakers representing firms and organisations from Belgium, Israel, Spain, and Germany shared their experiences and presented Global case studies and the financial viability of such projects in these countries.