2.1 System efficiency

Annual electricity production in CSP plants is higher than the PV plants. The main reason behind this difference in electricity production is that PV plants work only during sunshine hours. In the case of cloudy days or during night time, outputs of such plants are zero. CSP plants can function for prolonged hours because such plants may have additional storage for thermal energy which is exploited when sun is not available like night time [6]. Other than this feature, efficiency of PV plants decreases with time due to thermal degradation and cracks in the cell. However, in terms of land use, PV plants are better in producing more electricity from the same area as compared to CSP. It is because PV modules occupy less space comparatively with reference to the solar collectors and reflectors in CSP. It is estimated that contemporary PV plants are functioning at the solar conversion efficiency of 14–22% [7].
