Nuclear Energy

Solar water heaters are a very simple way of saving grid electricity. Bangalore city has promoted
the use of solar water heaters in a big way, and according to one estimate, it is resulting in a saving
of 900 MW peak load! dclx
China is the world leader in solar hot water systems, with 60% of the world’s capacity. It
presently has nearly 27 million rooftop solar water heaters; the energy harnessed by these
installations is equal to the electricity generated by 49 coal-fired power plants. In Europe too,
rooftop solar water heaters are spreading fast. Cyprus is the per capita world leader, with 92% of the
homes having solar water heaters. 15 percent of all Austrian households now rely on them for hot
water. Some 2 million Germans are now living in homes where both water and space are heated by
rooftop solar systems. In the United States, heating swimming pools was the dominant application
of solar hot water till 2005. In 2006, federal subsidies were introduced, and since then installation of
residential solar water and space heating systems has soared. dclxi
b) Solar Thermal Concentrating Systems
By using mirrors and lenses to concentrate the rays of the sun, solar thermal systems can
produce very high temperatures – as high as 3,000 degrees Celsius. This intense heat can be used
boil water and produce electricity. One of the greatest benefits of these solar thermal systems, more
commonly known as Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems, is the possibility of storing the
sun’s heat energy for later use, which allows the production of electricity even when the sun is no
longer shining. Properly sized storage systems, commonly consisting of molten salts, can transform
a solar plant into a supplier of continuous baseload electricity. CSP systems now in development
will be able to compete in output and reliability with large coal and nuclear plants.
CSP technology is best suited for the desert regions of the world – including desert regions
in the southern United States, North Africa, Mexico, China and India. Typical CSP plants are of
between 50 – 200 MW capacity. The first commercial CSP plants were built in the 1980s, but it is
only in the last few years that capacity has expanded rapidly. The US is the world leader in installed
CSP capacity. While it had only 430 MW in operation in 2009, approximately 7,000 MW are in the
process of development, of which 3000 MW is expected to be operational by 2011. dclxii The
European Renewable Energy Council expects total CSP installed capacity to exceed 1000 MW by
2010 and 20,000 MW by 2020. dclxiii China has also announced plans to set up CSP power plants of
2000 MW capacity over the next decade. dclxiv Large scale CSP plans have also been announced in
Jordan, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Morocco, Mexico and several other
countries. dclxv
CSP costs are declining as technology improves and production increases. Existing CSP
plants produce electricity for around 12 cents/kWh. These costs are expected to fall to below 6
cents/kwh by 2015, dclxvi making it probably cheaper than conventional electricity for decentralized
systems. Therefore, CSP-generated electricity is poised for a huge leap in the coming years. A study
by 'Emerging Energy Research' (a leading provider of market intelligence on the global energy
industry) projects cumulative global installed capacity of CSP to go up to 26,465 MW by 2020. dclxvii
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