On 17 November, the 2025 R&D project of the China Solar Thermal Alliance (CSTA), entitled “Economic Evaluation of Concentrating Solar Power Technologies,” officially kicked off. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Zhao Xiaohui, Deputy Chief Engineer and General Manager of the Science & Technology Innovation Center of Northwest Electric Power Design Institute Co., LTD, of China Power Engineering Consulting Group—the CSTA’s executive vice-chairman and lead organization of the task.
Ms. Du Fengli, Secretary-General of the CSTA, introduced the background, rationale and objectives of the project. She explained that, to foster collaborative innovation and industrial development of solar-thermal technologies, the first meeting of the sixth-term Chairmen’s Joint Conference decided to pilot five thematic R&D tracks each year, solicit specific research topics from member units, and provide financial support. The five tracks are:
1. CSP system integration
2. Solar thermochemistry
3. Thermal-energy storage and advanced utilization
4. Solar heating and industrial applications
5. Techno-economic and policy studies
After submission of proposals by member units and voting by the CSTA’s Expert Committee and Chairmen’s Joint Conference, Northwest Electric Power Design Institute Co., LTD, of China Power Engineering Consulting Group was entrusted to lead the study on “Economic Evaluation of Concentrating Solar Power Technologies.”
The project will carry out economic calculations and comparative analyses for parabolic-trough, solar-tower and linear-Fresnel CSP plants at three capacity levels—100 MW, 300 MW and 600 MW. The goal is to deliver a dedicated technical report covering performance differences, cost structures and parameter-sensitivity analyses, thereby providing a reliable basis for technology selection, investment control and cost reduction in CSP projects.
Fig. 1: Energy China Hami 50 MW solar tower CSP plant
Fig. 2: CGN Delingha 50 MW parabolic-trough CSP plant
Fig. 3: Yumen Xin’ao 100 MW linear-Fresnel CSP plant
With the 15th Five-Year Plan about to begin, the economics of CSP technology is a core factor for the sector’s scale-up and industrialization, making the launch of this project highly significant. At the kick-off meeting, participating organizations discussed the report outline proposed by the lead researcher and the next steps, work plan and milestones. The lead organization stated that the detailed framework and task division will be finalized within the week, and the full study will commence immediately.
Representatives from ROYALTECH, Dongfang Boiler Co., Ltd., Shanghai Boiler Works Co., Ltd., China General Nuclear New Energy Holdings Co., Ltd., Cosin Solar Technology Co., Ltd. and other entities attended the discussion.