Solar Energy Perspectives - IEA

Solar Energy Perspectives: Solar electricity
high population and economic activities, which have greater electricity consumption.
This is the essence of the so-called “Desertec” initiative (see Box: The EU-MENA
connection). Long-range electricity transportation is not new, and has been most often
deployed to link large reservoir hydropower dams to consuming areas. It is based on
high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) technology. HVDC lines show only 3% electricity
losses per 1 000 km, plus 0.6% losses in conversion at both ends, and have a smaller
footprint than high-voltage alternate-current (HVAC) lines on lands. They can be deployed
on sea floors at significant water depths, to link continents. HVDC lines can also be
superimposed over an existing grid to increase interconnection capabilities; this is often
referred to as super-grid.
In the BLUE Hi-Ren Scenario, the United States would be the largest producer and
consumer of CSP electricity. Africa would be the second-largest producing area, exporting
significant shares of its production to Europe. India would be the third producing and
consuming region (Figure 3.10). Apart from the large electricity transfers from North Africa
(and, to a smaller extent, Middle East) to Europe, potential exists for various long-range
transportation lines, such as: from South-Western United States and Mexico to the rest of
the United States, Peru and Chile to other Latin American countries, North and South
Africa to central Africa, central Asia to Russia, Rajasthan and Gujarat to other parts of
India, Tibet and Xingjian to other parts of China, Australia to Indonesia. West to East
transfers could also take advantage of time zone differences to serve afternoon or evening
peaks in some regions from others in their sunniest hours, and thus reduce the need for
thermal storage.
Figure 3.10 Production and consumption of CSP electricity (TWh)
North
America
1358
1358
EU +
Turkey
699
Russia
59 0
123
Central Asia
290 349
China
Middle East
264 264
407 517
Pacific
India
204 204
670 670
South America
325 325
Africa
494
959
2
kWh per m per yr
0 500 1 000 1 500 2 000 2 500 3 000
Consumption
Production
Note: Distribution of the solar resource for CSP plants in kWh/m 2 /y, and the production and consumption of CSP electricity (in TWh) by
world region in 2050. Arrows represent transfers of CSP electricity from sunniest regions or countries to large electricity demand centres.
Source: IEA, 2010d.
Key point
The United States will be the largest market for CSP followed by EU-MENA and India.
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