Using the sun to decarbonize the power sector: The economic potential of photovoltaics and concentrating solar power

Photovoltaics (PV) has recently undergone impressive growth and substantial cost decreases, while deployment for concentrating solar power (CSP) has been much slower. As the share of PV rises, the challenge of system integration will increase. This favors CSP, which can be combined with thermal storage and co-firing to reduce variability. It is thus an open question how important solar power will be for achieving climate mitigation targets, and which solar technology will be dominant in the long-term.