Solucar solar thermal complex near seville Spain includes the PS10 & PS20 solar thermal power and Solnova solar power stations.
Concentrated solar power (also called concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal, and CSP) systems use mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight, or solar thermal energy, onto a small area. Electrical power is produced when the concentrated light is converted to heat, which drives a heat engine (usually a steam turbine) connected to an electrical power generator or powers an, experimental as of 2013, thermochemical reaction.[1][2][3] CSP is being widely commercialized and the CSP market has seen about 740 MW of generating capacity added between 2007 and the end of 2010. More than half of this (about 478 MW) was installed during 2010, bringing the global total to 1095 MW. Spain added 400 MW in 2010, taking the global lead with a total of 632 MW, while the US ended the year with 509 MW after adding 78 MW, including two fossil–CSP hybrid plants.[4] The Middle East is also ramping up their plans to install CSP based projects and as a part of that Plan, Shams-I the largest CSP Project in the world has been installed in Abu Dhabi, by MASDAR.[5] CSP growth is expected to continue at a fast pace. As of April 2011, another 946 MW of capacity was under construction in Spain with total new capacity of 1,789 MW expected to be in operation by the end of 2013. A further GW of parabolic-trough and power-tower plants were under construction in the US, and contracts signed for at least another GW. Interest is also notable in North Africa and the Middle East, as well as India and China. The global market has been dominated by parabolic-trough plants, which account for 90% of CSP plants.[4]
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Location: Andalucia , Spain
Photo credit: © Steve Morgan / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: andalucia, carbon, change, climate, efficiency, electricity, energy, free, heliostats, innovation, neutral, plant, power, renewable, solar, spain, station, sunflowers, sustainable, thermal, tower, towers
