What is solar thermal power generation?

Harnessing solar energy for electric power generation is one of the growing technologies which provide a sustainable solution to the severe environmental issues such as climate change, global warming, and pollution. This chapter deals with the solar thermal power generation based on the line and point focussing solar concentrators.

What is solar thermal energy used for?

Solar thermal energy can be used for domestic water heating drying processes, combined heat and electricity generation in photovoltaic thermal collectors, direct and indirect electric power generation, desalination, cooling purposes, and other applications such as industrial and building indoor environments.

Are solar thermal applications better than solar PV?

While solar PV power generation has gained rapid momentum and is highly efficient for power generation, solar thermal applications, including both CSP and direct solar heat applications, offer a range of advantages for addressing specific energy needs in industrial, agricultural, residential, and commercial sectors.

Which thermodynamic cycle is used for solar thermal power generation?

Rankine, Brayton, and Stirling cycle are commonly used thermodynamic cycles for solar thermal power generation. The integration of thermal energy storage and hybridization of solar thermal energy systems with conventional power generation systems improves the performance and dispatchability of the solar thermal systems.

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 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.