Solar thermal electricity in 1998 : An IEA/solarPACES summary of status and future prospects

Utility scale hybrid wind–solar thermal electrical generation: A case study for Minnesota

“…Because its efficiency is among the best of the three types and because it is the only type of solar thermal system with a long-operating history at utility scale at this time, the parabolic trough system is chosen. A 1998 report from Sandia National Laboratory lists demonstrated annual efficiency of solar trough systems at 10-12% [22], similar to that in the EERE overview. Price and Kearney [23] have projected a 13.9% near-term efficiency for a 0.31 km 2 solar field plant.…”

Fluidized Bed Coal Gasification with CO2 under Direct Irradiation with Concentrated Visible Light

“…The large-scale solar concentrating systems have been developed for about 30 years. 23,24 Systematic development of the four types of the solar concentrating system (parabolic trough, power tower, dish, and double concentration) has led to their increasing capability for converting concentrated solar thermal energy into electricity, process heat, and chemical fuels. In a tower system, a field of two-axis tracking mirrors reflects the solar energy onto a receiver that is mounted on top of a centrally located tower.…”

State-of-the-art heat transfer fluids for parabolic trough collector

“…The parabolic trough collector is considered as the future of clean energy generation technology. The cost of PTC has radically reduced, and the performance has drastically enhanced due to the extensive research conducted on PTC by research institutes like International Energy Agency (IEA) on solar projects like SolarPACES [279]. Due to the enhancement in the performance of pilot plants, R&D in large scale testing of PTC plants, and increased mass production of these power plants, made PTCs to produce lowest cost green energy in the world and promises competitiveness in cost with fossil fuel utilizing power plants [280].…”