ESTELA has launched its first Strategic Research Agenda, which is highly welcomed and considered by the DG for Research & Innovation of the European Commission.

The Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) sets out the strategic priorities for European research on solar thermal electricity in order to identify clearly the bottlenecks, milestones and challenges of this emerging technology through the accomplishment of three clear objectives: to increase efficiency and reduce costs, to increase dispatchability and to improve the environmental profile.  

The SRA is the most in-depth analysis to date of the research requirements of the STE sector, and is based on one year of work, collaboration and discussions by the Scientific and Technical Committee of ESTELA, which constituted by ten highly qualified researchers and experts in Europe.

The STE research priority topics encompass the four main STE  technologies, Parabolic Troughs Collectors, Central Receiver, Linear Fresnel Reflectors and Dish Stirling Systems, with a dedicated chapter for cross-cutting issues, as well as some chapters attributed to what make the asset of solar thermal electricity stand out among other technologies: storage, hybridisation and international standards, since an efficient and concrete reduction of costs is not possible without their proper implementation.

Download PDF version: Executive Summary / Full Publication

The Strategic Research Agenda in paper version is available upon request to ESTELA.

This comprehensive China report was written by Cayetano Hernández Lluna for ESTELA covering the solar thermal electricity sector in China in 2011 and its future outlook in order to cover:

•          Potential of the country

•          Initiatives in progress and

•          The stakeholders in the CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) field in China from project developers to engineering companies and manufacturers.

This report shows updated information of the Chinese CSP market, the latest document released in July 2012. The report covers widely from the global energy situation, policy framework, Solar Thermal DNI Potential, research and development, projects developments steps, to key Chinese players in the solar thermal electricity market, as well as the situation of the different provinces in terms of solar thermal potential and the Grid in China. 

Full report is only available for ESTELA members.

ESTELA has released lately its first position paper, titled “The Essential Role of Solar Thermal Electricity: A real opportunity for Europe”, to state clear arguments which support the value proposition of Solar Thermal Electricity (STE) plants to policy makers and the public opinion by:

• Providing direct and reliable information from the STE Industry on current and future costs, which corrects some old and misleading data from different organizations.

• Highlighting the distinct technical features of STE plants in order to present them as the backbone of the future energy generation mix in the Sun Belt countries.

• Showing the great opportunity of STE technologies for the European industry in the near future and their potential for fostering industrial development in the countries which support their deployment.

Please click here to preview of the document.