New Delhi: Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) collaborated to host a two-day International Conference on Solar Thermal Technologies in New Delhi from February 12 to 13, 2024, to discuss the integration of Solar Thermal and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) storage with Renewable Technologies.
The conference aimed to explore the global landscape in Solar Thermal technologies, their integration with renewable energy power generation sources, storage applications, and their potential in the Indian context. Concentrated solar power (CSP), which uses mirrors or lenses with tracking systems to focus sunlight onto a small area, was a focal point, particularly its role in generating electricity through steam.
The inauguration on February 12, 2024, featured Secretary of New & Renewable Energy, Bhupinder Singh Bhalla; MD of SECI, R P Gupta; and Director General of NSEFI, Deepak Gupta. The Secretary emphasized India’s substantial progress in solar PV growth and ambitious targets, stressing the importance of new technologies like Solar Thermal and concentrated solar power for reliable and emission-free generation. SECI CMD R.P. Gupta highlighted the global emergence of Solar Thermal Technology and Concentrated Solar Power with storage as promising solutions for India’s energy targets. Director General of NSEFI, Deepak Gupta, advocated for exploring CSP to accelerate India’s energy transition, seeing it as the beginning of a Solar Thermal revolution.
Day 1 of the conference saw international experts and industry representatives sharing experiences and discussing India’s potential in these areas. Speakers from Belgium, Israel, Spain, and Germany presented global case studies and discussed the financial viability of such projects in their respective countries. They emphasized solar thermal’s emergence as a promising solution, particularly for long-duration energy storage and supporting India’s Firm and Dispatchable Renewable Energy (FDRE) requirements. A special session by SECI discussed the proposed tender for supplying FDRE through blending CSP with other RE technologies.
The second day of the conference features speakers from academia, research institutions, financial institutions, and industry representatives from across the globe.