Central solar heating plants with seasonal storage

Every year, the United States uses approximately 15 quads of energy (26 quads of primary fuels) to heat buildings and water for domestic use. Applying solar energy to these loads is attractive because of the low-temperature requirements of the end-uses. However, past solar approaches to space heating in cold winter climates have not fared well technically or economically because the winter resource in northern climates is not adequate and is highly intermittent. This paper discusses a new approach, Central Solar Heating Plant with Seasonal Storage (CSHPSS), which allows for efficient solar collection throughout the year. With CSHPSS, a thermal storage facility can be charged so that a sufficient heat source is prepared to meet nearly 100% of the winter space heating and annual hot water loads. Recent developments in northern Europe have shown that, when implemented on a large scale, CSHPSS is very efficient and can provide cost competitive and reliable energy. In the United States, the first CSHPSS project is in a final engineering phase.