Toward a Sustainable Energy Production System Based on Concentrated Solar Power Plants: Social and Water Availability Issues

The green transition of energy production systems is one of the most critical tasks for society nowadays. Concentrated solar power (CSP) plants require direct normal irradiance (<i>DNI</i>) to produce electricity. Nevertheless, the highest <i>DNI</i> values are usually found in regions with limited water availability, which can be a sustainability issue when using cooling technologies. Furthermore, deploying new infrastructure has significant socio-economic implications, requiring careful evaluation of CSP facility locations. In this work, a multiobjective mixed-integer linear programming model is developed, considering several variables related to production (such as <i>DNI</i>, temperature, and available land), environmental factors (such as water consumption by cooling systems), and social concerns associated with the deployment of the facilities. The model evaluates each region of Spain to choose the optimal location for five scenarios of technology substitution. The results show that decisions prioritize <i>DNI</i> values and seasonal energy demand followed by investment cost and social impact, while we avoid wet-cooling technology to increase job creation. Furthermore, a fully renewable electricity system using 9 CSP plants requires an estimated investment of 785 B€₂₀₂₅, presents a competitive LCOE of 0.086-0.093 €/kWh, and has the potential to contribute to a reduction in national unemployment by approximately 2.5 to 21%.