Technology

It has become accepted that PV represents a cheaper alternative to CSP in terms of initial CAPEX investments. However, what is the financial return like in the long-term?

CSP today investigates a detailed financial comparison between PV and CSP, taking into consideration aspects such as actual cost of electricity produced, plant size, O&M and TES in order to determine which type of energy plant provides better return on investment.  

By Marco Poliafico

M Eng, Grad EI 

Previously, CSP Today compared CSP and PV focusing exclusively on the Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE). In this article a more detailed analysis of the costs associated with the two types of energy plants is examined with the aim of revealing further elements that investors and developers could take into account.

The LCOE is defined by a wide range of costs occurring along the whole value chain of a solar energy facility, as shown in Figure 1 . A broad classification of such costs includes:

- Capital costs (or investment costs, also indicated as CAPEX),

- Operational costs (or O&M, indicated as OPEX),...