Technical-Financial Comparison Between a PV Plant and a CSP Plant

The paper deals with the economic-financial aspects of two typologies of solar energy sources: PhotoVoltaic (PV) plant and Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plant. The aim of the paper is to analyze the initial costs, the maintenance costs and benefits deriving from both the government economic incentives and the selling of energy between a 40 MWp PV plant and a 40 MW CSP plant. Even if the two plants under test have the same rated power, it results that the produced energy, under the same environmental conditions, is different. This technical aspect influences the business plan, because the government incentives, as well as the selling of energy, are directly related to the produced energy. Finally, initial costs as well as maintenance costs are also different because of the different constitutive components and the operation principle.