Concentrating Solar Thermal Energy and its Uses

摘要

The worldwide solar energy industry has grown quickly during the past few years and combined with research and development has become competitive with modern fossil fuel technologies in electric power and thermal energy facilities.rnDesign of concentrating solar thermal (CST) energy technology varies among companies, but the objective is the same: Harness energy from the sun and use it to convert water into steam energy for various uses. For example, one technology, heliostat, uses mirrors that track the position of the sun for maximum energy harvest, then radiates the concentrated energy to a receiver, or boiler, installed on top of a support structure 180 feet to 400 feet high, where water or molten salt is heated to produce high-pressure, high-temperature steam. This is sometimes called tower technology.