The energy system must be producing close to zero emissions by mid-century to meet stringent climate goals.
There are many possible clean energy options, but few are
ready or able to replace coal and gas as primary electricity
supplies. This paper addresses the issue of whether a viable
energy system can be based mostly around solar thermal
electricity. It is found that, using thermal storage,
correlations >90% between hourly grid load data and hourly
solar plant performance are easily attained, aggregated as
seasonal and annual loads. We also discuss the ability of
low cost solar thermal electricity with storage to assist other
renewable energy technologies with useful seasonal
correlations. The results suggest that both state and national
US systems can be largely supplied by direct solar thermal
electric systems which are close to market-ready.

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