Molten salt thermal energy storage in Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants offers several key advantages:
1. High-Temperature Operation & Efficiency
Molten salts store energy as sensible heat at temperatures up to 565–566 °C, enabling efficient steam generation for turbines. This matches the operational requirements of conventional power plants, maintaining high thermal-to-electric conversion efficiency (e.g., near 99% heat retention efficiency during storage).
2. Long-Duration Storage
Systems like MAN MOSAS provide up to 24 hours of full-power output, while other designs can store heat for over a week with adequate insulation. Industry applications demonstrate storage exceeding 10 hours, supporting grid stability during low renewable generation periods.
3. Cost-Effectiveness
Molten salts (e.g., sodium/potassium/calcium nitrate mixtures) are low-cost compared to battery storage and leverage existing steam turbine infrastructure. Their use as a heat-transfer fluid reduces system complexity in CSP plants.
4. Industrial Decarbonization
Excess heat from molten salt systems can replace fossil fuels in industrial processes (e.g., steam generation, residential heating) via heat pumps or electric resistance heating. They enable waste heat recovery and reuse within industrial facilities.
5. Durability & Scalability
Molten salt tanks have longer lifespans (up to 3x compared to some alternatives) and can be scaled to large capacities (e.g., 9.1m-tall tanks for 100 MW turbines). Two-tank designs remain the most effective technology for CSP, despite ongoing improvements.
Original article by NenPower, If reposted, please credit the source: https://nenpower.com/blog/what-are-the-advantages-of-using-molten-salts-for-thermal-energy-storage-in-csp-plants/
