Troughnet: the Parabolic Trough Solar Power Network

A portal Web site on Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)

Parabolic Trough Solar Power is one of the three principle technologies using Concentrated Solar Power (CSP). The others are the Parabolic Dish-Engine and Solar Power Tower systems. CSP systems use mirrors that concentrate the sun rays to heat a medium in a pipe or vessel, which is then used to power conventional steam turbines. Hence those systems are also called ‘solar thermal power plants’. The technology has a huge potential, even though it is not yet as widely used as conventional photovoltaic systems.

CSP can also be combined with photovoltaic systems, using the mirrors for concentrating sunlight on photovoltaic cells, instead of for heating a medium (see blog post ‘Heliotube – PV at half the cost’).

The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has dedicated a special Web site called TroughNet to Parabolic Trough Solar Power. This Web site provides descriptions of the various technological components, discusses R&D topics, presents a market assessment, and links to all major publications and events on CSP in the US.

A large potential in the U.S. south-west

Thermal CSP plants require sites with high direct solar radiation in order to be cost-effective; even more than photovoltaic systems. Desert regions in the south-western United States rank among the best sites in the world for CSP. To be feasible and cost effective, CSP plants also require relatively large areas of nearly level open land.

NREL performed a GIS analysis of the south-western United States to identify candidate areas for CSP. In selecting optimal sites with high economic potential, the analysis excluded regions in urban or sensitive areas such as national parks, regions with a low solar resource, and regions where terrain would inhibit the cost-effective deployment of large-scale plants. Based on this analysis, the NREL calculated that the US has the potential to install 55 GW of CSP by 2050. Presently, a single 350 MW CSP plant is in operation in California (see blog post ‘The world’s largest solar thermal power plant’).