Solar Thermal captures heat from the sun to create power. The heat can also be stored and used later. R&D now is focusing on computer-controlled reflector mirrors and more efficient ways to store the heat.
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Posts Tagged ‘solar thermal’
Solar thermal power. Recent advances
World’s first small scale solar thermal launches in Hawaii
This test project by Sopogy will hopefully be the first of many as Hawaii continues to be leader in renewable energy.
The 2 Megawatt thermal energy project which spans across 3.8 acres in the hot Kona desert utilizes 1,000 Sopogy proprietary MicroCSP solar panels. Through the use of mirrors and optics and an integrated sun [...]
Google to develop own solar mirror technology
Google, a huge user of electricity, wants to drop the price of solar thermal. So, they’re doing it themselves by researching ways to make the mirrors less expensive and by using solar to power gas turbines rather than using natural gas.
eSolar plant in CA producing power at competitive price
Two-year-old eSolar is having an opening ceremony for its pilot solar power plant in Lancaster, Calif., on Wednesday [today]. There’s a veritable glut of solar start-ups, but eSolar has already gotten further than most: it’s actually producing electricity at below the price consumers pay in California.
Their solar thermal plant uses “more software, less steel” and [...]
Massive solar thermal plant to launch in Israel
Tracking mirrors reflect sun to the top of the tower where it is heated to 1000 degrees Celcius, then used to power a gas turbine which converts the thermal energy into electricity.
AORA’s power station is the world’s first commercial hybrid solarized gas-turbine power station capable of producing green power during the day.
Other forms of solar [...]
World’s largest solar power plants with thermal storage to be built in Arizona
Solar thermal stores the heat from the sun in tanks filled with molten salt so they can generate energy at night. Fascinating stuff, and a proven technology too. And now Arizona will be getting the world’s largest such facility.
Right now concentrated solar-thermal power is still expensive, but as more come online, the price will continue [...]
California high speed rail and solar thermal power
Talk about synergy. Land on the nearly abandoned Palmdale airport outside L.A. may be used to build solar thermal plants to power the planned statewide high speed rail. With high speed rail at the airport, a trip into the downtown train station would take just 27 minutes – which could make the airport commercially viable [...]
California to get world’s largest solar project
Ecogeek
The desert outside of Los Angeles is about to get a system of solar thermal plants that will, at maximum output, produce 1.3 gigawatts of power. Yes, that is more even than large nuclear plants.
What’s more, solar thermal plants are cheap to build than photovoltaic and a better investment over their lifetimes than coal plants.
The [...]
Solar thermal
Solar thermal stores heat from the sun into molten salt to be used as needed to generate power through conventional steam turbines. Thus, it can generate power any time day or night, even when the sun isn’t shining. This is a zero emissions process and the salt itself is completely non-toxic.
Renewable Energy World has an [...]
Solar thermal-biofuel hybrid power
New power plants ordered by Pacific Gas and Electric Company in California will generate renewable power constantly using solar thermal plus steam turbines powered by biofuel from the nearby Central Valley. Thus they will be able to create electricity anytime, even when the sun isn’t out, and will each use a whopping 250,000 tons of [...]
