State of the art on high temperature thermal energy storage for power generation. Part 1-Concepts, materials and modellization

Concentrated solar thermal power generation is becoming a very attractive renewable energy production system among all the different renewable options, as it has have a better potential for dispatchability. This dispatchability, is inevitably linked with an efficient and cost-effective thermal storage system. Thus, of all components, thermal storage is a key one. However, it is also one of the less developed. Only a few plants in the world have tested high temperature thermal energy storage systems. In this paper, the different storage concepts are reviewed and classified. All materials considered in literature or plants are listed. And finally, modellization of such systems is reviewed. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.