CSP in Namibia – Solution to the “duck curve”?

Abstract

Electricity costs from photovoltaics (PV) and wind power generation technologies have fallen greatly in recent years and are still expected to fall into the future. By the year 2020, PV and wind power generation technologies could provide the lowest cost of electricity from any source. A large scale roll-out of PV and wind power plants within conventional electricity grids will create a new operating paradigm to which power utilities and system operators will swiftly need to adapt to. For Namibia, the so-called “duck-curve” best illustrates this paradigm, representing the difference between the future demand and the expected electricity supply from intermittent Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) (especially PV) into the grid. Through a Namibian case study, this paper investigates the potential role of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) within the electricity supply mix, given a high penetration of intermittent RETs within the grid. This study suggests that the key role of CSP within the Namibian electricity supply mix, under the set of assumptions considered, would be to provide peaking and mid-merit support to the grid on a seasonal basis.Electricity costs from photovoltaics (PV) and wind power generation technologies have fallen greatly in recent years and are still expected to fall into the future. By the year 2020, PV and wind power generation technologies could provide the lowest cost of electricity from any source. A large scale roll-out of PV and wind power plants within conventional electricity grids will create a new operating paradigm to which power utilities and system operators will swiftly need to adapt to. For Namibia, the so-called “duck-curve” best illustrates this paradigm, representing the difference between the future demand and the expected electricity supply from intermittent Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) (especially PV) into the grid. Through a Namibian case study, this paper investigates the potential role of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) within the electricity supply mix, given a high penetration of intermittent RETs within the grid. This study suggests that the key role of CSP within the Namibian electricit...