Concentrated Solar Power Panels

Concentrated solar power system types.

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. What is concentrated solar thermal. 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.

Concentrating solar power csp technologies use mirrors to concentrate focus the sun s light energy and convert it into heat to create steam to drive a turbine that generates electrical power. 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. 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. Here in we review basic solar energy facts of competing solar technologies csp vs pv.

Csp vs pv technologies. 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. 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.

Concentrated solar thermal cst is a solar energy technology that uses sunlight to generate heat. Concentrating solar power csp technologies. Csp technology utilizes focused sunlight. Concentrated solar thermal systems csp are not the same as photovoltaic panels.