Solar thermal power just got hotter

clipped from www.worldofrenewables.com The linear Fresnel (pronounced Freh-nel) reflector is arguably the hottest new solar power technology being developed today—not only for its inventiveness, but the temperatures it can produce are upward around 800 degrees Celsius It’s the latest innovation in concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies, a family of approaches to providing solar energy for power utilities—we’re talking hundreds of megawatts as opposed to photo voltaic cells, which are ideal for small scale use in the kilowatt range.  As a group, CSP technologies, also referred to as solar thermal technologies, rely on mirrors to reflect and concentrate solar radiation to generate heat. In turn, the heat is used to produce steam, which powers a turbine to produce electricity. CSPs are credited with solving the irregularity of solar power availability, which vacillates with cloud cover and nightfall. By converting solar power into thermal energy, it can be stored and deployed whenever needed.