Solar Thermal Power Uses Solar Energy Instead of Combustion

Solar thermal power plants use the sun’s rays to heat a fluid to very high temperatures. The fluid is then circulated through pipes so it can transfer its heat to water to produce steam. The steam, in turn, is converted into mechanical energy in a turbine and into electricity by a conventional generator coupled to the turbine.

So solar thermal power generation works essentially the same as generation from fossil fuels except that instead of using steam produced from the combustion of fossil fuels, the steam is produced by the heat collected from sunlight. Solar thermal technologies use concentrator systems to achieve the high temperatures needed to heat the fluid.

Types of Solar Thermal Power Plants

Parabolic Troughs

Parabolic troughs are used in the largest solar power facility in the world located in the Mojave Desert at Kramer Junction, California. This facility has operated since the 1980s and accounts for the majority of solar electricity produced by the electric power sector today.
A parabolic trough collector has a long parabolic-shaped reflector that focuses the sun’s rays on a receiver pipe located at the focus of the parabola.