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Thermal solar power as an alternative to coal

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'''Thermal solar power''' is electricity that is generated from the heat of the sun. The most common usage of solar thermal energy is for on site water and space heating. However, electrical energy has been reliably produced by concentrated solar power arrays. The concentrated solar power method of energy generation has arrays of parabolic mirrors focusing light onto pipes of water. The hot water is heated to the boiling point and powers a steam turbine to generate electricity. <ref name="SciAm">Ken Zweibel, James Mason and Vasilis Fthenakis, "[http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=a-solar-grand-plan A Solar Grand Plan: By 2050 solar power could end U.S. dependence on foreign oil and slash greenhouse gas emissions]," ''Scientific American Magazine'', January 2008.</ref>

~~==What It Is==~~Solar thermal power is electricity that is generated from the heat of the sun. The most common usage of solar thermal energy is for on site water and space heating at the moment, however, electrical energy has been reliably produced by concentrated solar power arrays. The concentrated solar power method of energy generation has arrays of parabolic mirrors focusing light onto pipes of water. The hot water is heated to the boiling point and powers a steam turbine to generate electricity. The chief resource required is large tracts of land with good sun exposure. Areas with arid land not suitable for farming could be readily cultivated as solar farms. The chief problem associated with this form of electricity generation is that it stops generating electricity when the sun is down. One solution is molten salt thermal storage. During the day, heat from the water is transferred to insulated chambers filled with molten salt, which retains the heat well. At night time, the heat batteries are used as a thermal source for power generation. [http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id<ref name=~~a-solar-grand-plan 1~~ "~~A Solar Grand Plan,~~SciAm"]/>

The chief problem associated with this form of electricity generation is that it stops generating electricity when the sun is down. One solution is molten salt thermal storage. During the day, heat from the water is transferred to insulated chambers filled with molten salt, which retains the heat well. At night time, the heat batteries are used as a thermal source for power generation. <ref name="SciAm"/> =~~Resources~~=Articles and resources==

===Related SourceWatch articles===

===References===

===External resources===

===External articles===

*[http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=a-solar-grand-plan "A Solar Grand Plan,"] Ken Zweibel, James Mason and Vasilis Fthenakis, ''Scientific American,'' December 2007.

* [http://www.ases.org/climatechange/climate_change.pdf "Tackling Climate Change in the U.S.: Potential Carbon Emissions Reductions from Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by 2030,"] American Solar Energy Society, January 2007.

* [http://www.khoslaventures.com/presentations/CoalThinkOutsidethePits.pdf "The War on Coal: Think Outside the (Coal) Pits,"] Khosla Ventures, 2007 (PDF file)

~~===References===~~

~~<references/>~~

[[Category:Alternatives to coal]][[Category:Climate change]] [[category:Energy]]

Diane Farsetta

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