The Oil Drum: Europe

You mentioned that PV systems lack the ability to store energy as needed, but I see little mention of how the CSP and solar islands overcome this problem. Does the fluid/vapor retain its heat all night generating power around the clock? One could assume the PV solar-island you mention would still have a storage problem to overcome.

Yes. PV systems have a problem because they produce electricity directly, and electric energy cannot be stored easily/cheaply. CSP systems are thermal solar systems operating at high temperature values. They can easily store their pneumatic/thermal energy (high pressure/temperature) during the night. Of course you lose some of the stored energy, but the loss is economically and technically acceptable.

Another issue is the summer/winter issue. Solar systems provide more energy during the summer months, which is luckily when you also need more of it close to the equator (for cooling). When you build a solar power plant at a location farther away from the equator, e.g. here in Switzerland, you have a problem, because the solar system produces most of its energy during the summer, whereas we consume much more energy during the winter months (for heating).