Concentrated solar power/zh
聚光太阳能发电（CSP）透过一系列阵列收集太阳的能量，然后将其集中或聚焦在阵列中心的位置。在这个中心点的能量变得非常热，热得足以熔化许多金属并产生蒸气。这些阵列中最引人注目的是大型定日镜（镜子）装置，它们追踪太阳并将辐射能量反射到高塔上的接收器。极少数较小的系统使用菲涅耳透镜或抛物面反射器来集中太阳热能。太阳能发电有很多优点
集中器设计
太阳能聚光技术有多种形式：
- 太阳能塔- 专为大规模集中式电网应用而设计。它们只是运行中的几个原型，它们使用抛物面镜反射太阳辐射，然后将其聚焦到位于反射器中心并高于地面的电力塔上。
- 碟式太阳能聚光器- 是电力塔的较小版本。镜子阵列将太阳的能量集中在聚光器的中心。在 SES 和 SAIC 系统中，这是发电机组或发电机所在的位置。它们的功率范围根据聚光器阵列的大小而变化，但 SES/SAIC 系统发电机的功率约为 20-40 千瓦时，足以为 4-6 个家庭供电。
- 太阳能槽- 通常设计为大型集中式电力系统的一部分，但它们不像电力塔那样依赖集中焦点，可用于较小规模的应用。
- 高通量太阳能熔炉- 涉及地球表面太阳正常强度的许多倍的集中，产生非常高的温度，从而能够直接利用来自太阳的能量来成型金属。
典型的系统可能由太阳追踪器机电系统、热能电池（有时称为 TES 或热能储存）和应用程序（例如可以产生旋转马力的吸收装置）组成。
定日镜
定日镜是一种包含镜子（通常是平面镜）的装置，它可以转动以不断将阳光反射向预定目标，从而补偿太阳在天空中的视运动。目标可以是远离定日镜的实体对象，或是空间中的方向。为此，镜子的反射表面保持垂直于从镜子看到的太阳方向和目标方向之间的角度的平分线。几乎在每种情况下，目标相对于定日镜都是静止的，因此光线会沿着固定方向反射。
定日镜的主要用途是用于采光（将日光引入原本照明不佳的空间）以及用于太阳能热发电站的发电。它们也偶尔或过去曾被用于测量、天文学和其他科学领域，在太阳炉中产生极高的温度，改善农业照明，并将持续的阳光照射到太阳灶上。在 19 世纪，画家和其他艺术家使用它们来为他们的主题提供持续、明亮的照明。
定日镜应与太阳追踪器或太阳追踪器区分开来，后者始终直接指向天空中的太阳。然而，某些类型的定日镜包含太阳追踪器以及用于平分太阳眼镜目标角度的附加元件。
与太阳能光伏发电相比的优点和缺点
太阳能光电价格昂贵，与石油等其他能源相比，太阳能光电价格昂贵的原因之一是需要大量占用大量面积的光电板才能产生一定量的电力。聚光太阳能虽然需要很小的占地面积，因为它以更高的效率运行，每单位集热器将更多的太阳光转化为能量。然而，目前尚不清楚该技术的成本是否与光伏太阳能相比具有竞争力，更不用说石油或天然气了，因为该技术仍处于实验阶段。目前，尚无能力大规模生产制造 SES 太阳能聚光器所需的零件，因此制造成本昂贵。SES 当然相信，一旦他们形成了规模经济，建造这些阵列的成本将会大幅下降。
开发聚光太阳能技术的两家主要公司均使用外燃机作为发电机组。然而，碟式太阳能系统的多功能性允许安装不同的发电机组。内华达州 1MW 碟式太阳能引擎专案也位于 UNLV 测试设施内。对两个碟式太阳能竞争对手 SAIC 和 SES 进行了相互评估。SES 似乎产生了更多的功率并且整体表现良好。然而，有趣的是使用三结太阳能电池创建的聚光太阳能/PV。这种混合动力有可能显著增加电池容量，从而显著提高电池的发电量，并减少发电所需的电池数量。但这仍然是一项实验性技术。其他可能性包括使用热电耦合或蒸汽涡轮机。
应用领域
SES 以其 1000 MW 斯特林发电机设施提出的集中式电力解决方案的大规模太阳能开发是实现再生能源经济的选择。
The Solar Power Village technology does fit this model and it also offers low-cost sterling engine solutions rather than high cost solutions put forward by SES. However SES's system may be more geared to produce electricity for sale to utilities than the Solar Power Village System. In one test performed by UNLV's solar research program SES's concentrator system outperformed SAIC's.
There are many other applications for industrial and human use of the latent heat stored in the TEB/TES
Why CSP?
Today's world suffers from an increasing dependence on fossil fuels, either for electricity production, transportation or reagent for the chemical industry. A technological revolution in hydrogen and electricity production is important to support the future needs and lead the world towards a better future. For that, technological and economical barriers have to be broken. Concentrated solar power (CSP) has been proving to be a valid means to start this revolution and produce electricity and hydrogen from completely renewable sources—water and the sun. Although solid steps should be taken to solve the current limitations and increase the technical and economical viability of these projects, there are conditions to begin this revolution using factual bridges from the current fossil technologies to renewable technologies.
Next steps
The most appropriate technology approaches are those focused on Distributed Power and/or District Power solutions and this primarily includes Dish and Trough solar Thermal systems. These systems are versatile, in that they can be used both in what are called distributed decentralized power systems and centralized, grid based or stand alone (off grid) applications (like the way most is generated today in large power plants at centralized locations.
Location
The world's first concentrated solar power tower (PS10) was built near Seville, Spain with construction beginning in 2004. The project today has 11 MW installed capacity, but the Spanish are aiming to increase installed capacity in the area to near 300 MW when other plants come online by the end of 2013.
The Ivanpah concentrated solar power plant in California's Mojave Desert is currently the world's largest such plant. The Ivanpah project has a planned installed capacity of 370 MW, although currently there are only 126 MW of installed capacity.
Solar power plants are preferred to be built in dry, arid regions of the world, which serve the dual purpose of maximizing solar insolation while protecting equipment from inclement weather. As with solar power in general, potential for CSP in the future is tremendous.
Solar CHP System Example
Solar insolation on Earth is tremendous and is more than capable of being a significant source of an energy portfolio. Consider that solar energy is responsible for plant growth, wind, waves, hydro-electric power, river power and direct conversion to electricity and for direct heat.
A major problem with CSP systems (and with any solar system) is matching load to supply. The storage of a hot liquid in the TEB, greatly in excess of the anticipated load over time, will allow for uninterrupted use. Critical backup should always be provided for hospitals, communication centers, and other essential services. The TEB can provide most of that backup, since heat can be generated and parsed into the TEB from a variety of sources (electric heat, liquid fueled heaters, geothermal heat, heat from biomass combustion). The supply of heat from the TEB allows for matching to a variable load. The use of solar radiance to heat the transfer liquid is the lowest cost source of energy, even considering the amortization of equipment and operational expenses. Distributed energy. The primary benefit is derived from the ability to size a system for a wide variety of different applications, loads, and locations. The Solar Furnace CHP System's electrical generation can operate in stand-alone mode or networked locally or nationally. A significant savings of energy lost over the transmission lines, due to heat radiation, can be realized by locating many smaller plants at the point of application and the avoidance of huge, centralized facilities.
Heat collection, storage and transfer. The use of a heat transfer liquid allows for two levels of heat. The collectors will be able, on a sunny day, to heat the liquid up to 600 degrees F. This liquid will be pumped to the TEB which is a large tank, heavily insulated and containing two heat exchangers. This tank can be made of many different materials, including temperature resistant concrete, ceramics, steel, aluminum, and other metals. The insulation will consist of a closed cell foam, made from soy, applied to the outside of the tank. The heat exchanger will be metal plate exchangers. Should one of the leaves of a plate exchanger fail, that exchanger can be unbolted and the failed plate replaced.
The tank takes its input from the solar collectors at the maximum temperature (not to exceed 600 degrees F), which incoming liquid heats the liquid in the TEB. A plate heat exchanger then parses that heat to the application. In doing so, the temperature of the liquid leaving the exchanger is regulated by a mixing valve which mixes the returning, colder fluid, with the outgoing hotter fluid, able to maintain the target temperature used by the application. Such mixing values are commercially available and can be linked to computer controls and remote sensors, switches, pumps and valves.
这些装置将销往农场、温室经营、乳品厂、食品加工和包装厂、工业工厂和机构。预计投资回收期为两年到十年。