Solar Energy

Concentrating Solar Power: Energy from Mirrors

Mirror mirror on the wall, what's the greatest energy source of all? The sun. Enough energy from the sun falls on the Earth everyday to power our homes and businesses for almost 30 years. Yet we've only just begun to tap its potential. You may have heard about solar electric power to light homes or solar thermal power used to heat water, but did you know there is such a thing as solar thermal-electric power? Electric utility companies are using mirrors to concentrate heat from the sun to produce environmentally friendly electricity for cities, especially in the southwestern United States.

DOE/GO-102001-1147 FS 128 March 2001

The southwestern United States is focusing on concentrating solar energy because it's one of the world's best areas for sunlight. The Southwest receives up to twice the sunlight as other regions in the country. This abundance of solar energy makes concentrating solar power plants an attractive alternative to traditional power plants, which burn polluting fossil fuels such as oil and coal. Fossil fuels also must be continually purchased and refined to use. Unlike traditional power plants, concentrating solar power systems provide an environmentally benign source of energy, produce virtually no emissions, and con-

This concentrating solar power tower system — known as Solar Two — near Barstow, California, is the world’s largest central receiver plant.

This document was produced for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a DOE national laboratory. The document was produced by the Information and Outreach Program at NREL for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse (EREC) is operated by NCI Information Systems, Inc., for NREL / DOE. The statements contained herein are based on information known to EREC and NREL at the time of printing. No recommendation or endorsement...