How Solar Thermal Power Plant Works

Solar thermal power plants may also be hybrid systems that use.

How solar thermal power plant works.

Solar thermal power plants are electricity generation plants that utilize energy from the sun to heat a fluid to a high temperature this fluid then transfers its heat to water which then becomes superheated steam this steam is then used to turn turbines in a power plant and this mechanical energy is converted into electricity by a generator this type of generation is essentially the same as. Solar thermal power systems may also have a thermal energy storage system component that allows the solar collector system to heat an energy storage system during the day and the heat from the storage system is used to produce electricity in the evening or during cloudy weather. Since the area specific power density is limited the irradiation is concentrated by an optical system onto an absorber to obtain elevated temperatures allowing an effective transformation of heat into mechanical work. The most common type of solar thermal power plants including those plants in california s mojave desert use a parabolic trough design to collect the sun s radiation.

Solar thermal power plants a solar thermal plant generates heat and electricity by concentrating the sun s energy. Solar thermal power plants use the energy of solar radiation to provide the heat needed to operate a thermal power cycle. These collectors are known as linear concentrator systems and the largest are able to generate 80 megawatts of electricity source. Department of energy they are shaped like a half pipe you d see used for snowboarding or.