Solar Market and Cost Analysis
CSP Update
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Crescent Dunes, the 110 MWac CSP plant with 10 hours of storage in Nevada, which was originally
placed in service in 2015, continues to optimize operation, following its 2020 bankruptcy. Despite NV
Energy terminating its PPA with the project in 2019, the utility continues to take its power.
The project operated less than half the year in 2021 and 2022, but it achieved capacity factors of
28% (October 2022) and 30% (November 2022).
• It was reported that the 100 MWac Urat CSP project, in Mongolia, China with 10 hours of storage,
generated 12 straight days of continuous power (June 4-15, 2022).
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- China typically needs more 24-hour power than other nations due to a higher percentage of load
from overnight factory operations.
Panatère, a watch component manufacturer and steel recycling business, located in Switzerland,
announced it would soon begin operating a solar furnace that melts steel without fuel or electricity.
- The solar furnace can melt 400 tons of recycled steel per year and reach temperatures of 2,000° C.
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