Concentrated Solar Power Panels

What is concentrated solar thermal.

Concentrated solar power panels.

Generally concentrated solar power is not installed at a residential scale and instead will almost always be installed over a large area as a utility scale generating facility. Concentrated solar thermal systems csp are not the same as photovoltaic panels. Concentrated solar thermal cst is a solar energy technology that uses sunlight to generate heat. Csp systems concentrate radiation of the sun to heat a liquid substance which is then used to drive a heat engine and drive an electric generator.

Electricity is generated when the concentrated light is converted to heat solar thermal energy which drives a heat engine usually a steam turbine connected to an electrical power. Spain is the world leader in the use of cst to produce electricity with around 2 3 gw in operation followed by the united states with around 1 7 gw in operation. Csp technologies can be used to generate electricity by converting energy from sunlight to power a turbine but it can also be used as heat in a variety of industrial applications like water desalination enhanced oil. Concentrating solar power csp technologies.

Csp vs pv technologies. Csp technology utilizes focused sunlight. Csp plants generate electric power by using mirrors to. For residential and commercial property owners solar photovoltaic panels are the best way to harness the sun s energy for use.

Concentrating solar power csp plants use mirrors to concentrate the sun s energy to drive traditional steam turbines or engines that create electricity. Concentrated solar power csp also known as concentrating solar power concentrated solar thermal systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight onto a receiver. The thermal energy concentrated in a csp plant can be stored and used to produce electricity when it is needed day or night. The solar energy technologies office seto supports research and development of concentrating solar thermal power csp technologies that reduce the cost of solar energy.