Reply #18: They are solar plants, and that's what counts. [View All]

[NNadir]

Actually photovoltaics are less flexible than are solar thermal plants. If the electricity of a photovoltaic is not used immediately, the environmental cost of storing the energy (not to mention the huge loss of efficeincy) makes it very unattractive. This is not true for a thermal plant, which can be used in many ways to create stored energy.

I think it's telling that the thermal plants are economically viable and have been installed at the level of small fossil fueled plants, whereas the largest photovoltaic plant in the world is trivial.

In any case, any solar capacity is a plus for the environment, inasmuch as it represents greenhouse gases not emitted. I just think that photovoltaics will at best only represent a tiny fraction of the energy demand for the next several decades.