The latest information on solar thermal equipment in solar power plants

Are solar thermal energy systems suitable for industrial applications?

The solar thermal energy systems performance for industrial applications are analyzed in the earlier previous studies to identify suitable solar thermal technology for various industrial process heat applications and are briefed in Table 2.

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.

How to integrate solar thermal energy systems with industrial processes?

The integration of solar thermal energy systems with the industrial processes mainly depends on the local solar radiation, availability of land, conventional fuel prices, quality of steam required, and flexibility of system integration with the existing process.

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.

Can solar thermal energy be used for process heat applications?

Therefore, the solar thermal energy system is considered to be one of the attractive solutions for producing thermal energy for process heat applications. Hence, there is tremendous opportunity to replace conventional energy sources with solar thermal energy systems.

How does a solar thermal plant work?

A solar thermal plant can utilise the infrared and a small part of the visible spectrum. This energy is absorbed and used to raise the temperature of a heat transfer fluid. However, most of the visible light energy is rejected in a solar thermal plant.