Concentrating Solar Power

CSP systems use reflective materials that concentrate the sun's heat energy to drive a generator that produces electricity.

This solar thermal power plant located in the Mojave Desert in Kramer Junction, California, is one of nine such plants built in the 1980s. During operation, oil in the receiver tubes collects the concentrated solar energy as heat and is pumped to a power block (in background) for generating electricity.

This solar dish-engine system is an electric generator that "burns" sunlight instead of gas or coal to produce electricity. The dish, a concentrator, is the primary solar component of the system, collecting the energy coming directly from the sun and concentrating it on a small area. A thermal receiver absorbs the concentrated beam of solar energy, converts it to heat, and transfers the heat to the engine/generator. (Credit: Sandia National Laboratories)

Concentrating solar power (CSP) is a large-scale solar thermal technology. There are three types of concentrating solar technologies: trough systems, dish/engine systems, and power towers. These solar technologies are used in CSP plants that use different kinds of mirror configurations to convert the sun's energy into high-temperature heat. The heat energy is then used to generate electricity in a steam generator.

Concentrating solar power's relatively low cost and ability to deliver power during periods of peak demand—when and where we need it—mean that it can be a major contributor to the nation's future needs for distributed sources of energy.