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FITs have grown in popularity over the past 2 years asmechanisms to help states meet RPS goals. There is workto be done to broaden the scale and type of technologiescovered, which an increased portfolio of functional modelscan help promote. The uncertain economic environmenthas bolstered FIT credibility, providing investors a guaranteeof returns.Concentrated Solar PowerConcentrated Solar Power (CSP) encompassesseveral different designs.CSP is divided into Concentrated SolarThermal and Concentrated Photovoltaics;the first using the sun’s energy as a heat sourcefor a traditional power plant, and the secondutilizing a one-stage process involving PV panels.Built in hot, sunny areas, these installations aredesigned to handle peak load demand and haveincreasingly developed into viable storageoptions as well. The scale and method oftracking and harnessing the sun varies fromcompany to company, and region to region, withmany such models represented at RETECH2009.Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) technologyuses heat generated from the Sun.CST projects use lenses or mirrors to reflect a concentratedbeam of reflected sunlight into a receiver that usesthe thermal energy to drive the electricity generationprocess. These projects often incorporate hyperbolictroughs, some focusing the light on a centralized thermalreceiver and some on a tube in the middle of the trough,both creating superheated steam that drives a boiler andproduces energy. Concentrated Solar Thermal projects canalso incorporate rectangular mirrors arranged in raysaround a central tower, dishes that reflect into centralreceivers, as well as modular designs that include multiplereceivers, making scaling easy. With advances in thermalstorage, such as molten salt tanks, solar thermal can gobeyond augmenting summer peak load and become ashort-term reserve option.Concentrated Photovoltaics (CPV) use energyfrom the Sun to create electricity.CPV projects are a centralized and scaled-up version ofconventional PV panels, which in recent years haveadopted dual tracking axes to optimize their angle to thesun. CPV units require minimal amounts of water comparedto solar thermal—but due to their one-step energyconversion process—must rely on battery advances if theyare to be viable storage options as well. Modular indesign, CPV projects have little impact on the surroundingarea and can be assembled in days, not months.Some challenges for CSP still remain.To secure grid stability under such bold REbuild-out scenario, dispatchable CSP plantswith thermal storage are needed at least forcritical summer on-peaks– Rainer Aringhoff, PresidentSolar Millennium LLCAs with other solar technologies, bringing down the cost ofCSP installations is at the top of the list, as well assmoothing integration issues with the grid. Performance isanother challenging characteristic of the industry, as wellas maximizing its capacity for energy storage.Policy and IncentivesThe American Recovery and Reinvestment Act(ARRA) will stimulate the solar industry.The Production Tax Credit/Investment TaxCredit (PTC/ITC) options within the ARRAare likely to be popular, possibly encouragingnew tax equity and bringing the cost/KWh downto wind’s levels if high yields are sustained inthat sector.The stimulus bill also removed the barrier to using the ITCoption for projects of under $2,000, as well as for utilityownedprojects. The 30% manufacturing tax credit is amajor boost to solar manufacturers, who face the highmaterial costs previously described. The accelerateddepreciation program is also helpful, though it does notaddress project finance purposes. Finally, the FederalLoan Guarantee Program has the potential to supportweaker credits and enable more projects if administeredquickly and with low transaction costs.The Investment Tax Credit (ITC) grant programAmerican Council On Renewable EnergyExecutive Summary Report 55