US abandons solar thermal power for solar photovoltaic

MIT Technology Review : Despite being home to the largest solar thermal power plant in the world—the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California’s Mojave Desert—the US is turning increasingly to natural gas and solar photovoltaic systems because of cost considerations. In the US, natural gas is plentiful and cheap, and solar photovoltaic systems, unlike solar thermal, use conventional solar panels and don’t require vast, open tracts of land. Opportunities for solar thermal overseas are another story, however. Ambitious plans are in the works for desert countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Next month, the first of four solar thermal plants being built near the Moroccan city of Ouarzazate is scheduled to go on line. When completed in 2020, it will be the largest solar thermal plant in the world. As improved designs, volume manufacturing, and streamlined technologies are developed and overall costs decrease, solar thermal may become more competitive in the US also.