IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON, LONDON, UK. Solar energy systems may be the key to address climate change wherein the whole planet is affected. Studies show that massive amounts of energy could be provided when linked to the CSP system. This is without extra cost in comparison with power plants that are using gas. Researchers wanted to create a sustainable energy system to help the environment.

The solar power that we know, called Photovoltaic (PV) cells, converts sunlight directly to electricity. The only issue with this is that some areas do not have sun all of the time. In order to gain more energy which can be stored, researchers have developed Concentrating Solar Power. Although limited, the sun’s energy can be stored as heat and then once needed, turbines will be activated to convert energy to electricity. It would be more beneficial if it could store larger amounts of energy.

The research team was led by Stefan Pfenninger, a Research Postgraduate at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London. During the time of the study, he was working at IIASA (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis) together with co-author Anthony Patt, Professor of Human-Environment Systems, ETH Zurich Department of Environmental Systems Science. They believe that solar energy would definitely be more cost efficient for large-scale electricity needs.

Researchers are still working on how to build a better and bigger system which would be feasible in the Mediterranean and Southern Africa. The goal of the team is to provide electricity all year round using the connected network of CSP.

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