What is solar thermal plant?

Solar thermal plant is one of the most interesting applications of solar energy for power generation. The plant is composed mainly of a solar collector field and a power conversion system to convert thermal energy into electricity.

What is a solar thermal power plant in Spain?

A solar thermal power plant in Spain. 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.

Are solar thermal power plants a good idea?

Solar thermal power plants benefit from free solar energy for clean electricity production with low operational cost and greenhouse gases emissions. However, the major hurdle for developing these plants is the intermittence of solar energy leading to a mismatch of energy production with the energy demand.

What is a high temperature solar power plant?

The operating temperature reached using this concentration technique is above 500 degrees Celsius —this amount of energy heat transfer fluid to produce steam using heat exchangers. The energy source in a high-temperature solar power plant is solar radiation. Meanwhile, a conventional thermal power plant uses fossil fuels such as coal or gas.

What are the different types of solar thermal power plants?

There are two other types of solar thermal power plant. One is a solar pond, a large area of water exposed to sunlight that is designed to maintain a small temperature gradient between its upper and lower layers that can be used to drive a heat engine. This is a relatively low-technology solar thermal plant and it has been rarely used.

How do solar thermal power plants work?

In solar thermal power plants, solar radiation is concentrated at one point to produce steam. The steam drives a steam turbine that converts the energy to mechanical energy to drive an electric generator. The thermodynamic performance is low, but the price of fuel is zero.