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Solar Power

Volume 457: debated on Monday 5 March 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the merits of using concentrated solar power as an alternative energy source for the future; and if he will make a statement. (121754)

The Government have not made any assessment into using concentrated solar power to help the UK meet its long-term energy requirements. Using concentrated solar power would require the transfer of electricity generated from hotter climates to the UK. There have been early studies into this energy source

www.dir.de/tt/trans-csp

however, there are a number of technical challenges, which would need to be addressed. The economics, in particular the amounts of energy required to justify the investment in the High Voltage Direct Current link, needs more work. There would need to be a massive source of surplus electricity to make this worthwhile and considerable investment. The Government do not consider this technology a priority for further work.