Global energy supply potential of concentrating solar power

This paper presents the global energy supply potential of concentrating solar thermal power (CSP). Based on the DLR-ISIS data for global direct normal irradiance, an estimate is derived for global potential CSP areas and their electricity supply potential. Assumptions are included for land use restrictions and land use efficiency. Including data of global distribution of population distances of centers of CSP electricity supply to human electricity demand are estimated. Performance characteristics of high voltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission is used for analysing global energy supply potential of CSP. Results are shown for different regions in the world, different distances to potential CSP areas and for electric and non-electric energy needs. The outcome clearly shows that CSP has the potential to become a major source of global energy supply. This supports an important assumption in the DESERTEC concept, which assigns large fraction of power supply to CSP