Instant Thermal Solar Power Generation

What is solar–thermal technology?

Solar–thermal technology is regarded as the most efficient and direct way to harness solar energy. It has already been adopted in multiple fields such as domestic heating 4, 5, steam generation 6, 7, 8, seawater desalination 9, 10 and solar–thermal power plants 11.

What is solar thermoelectric generation?

Solar radiation is one potential abundant and eco-friendly heat source for this application, where one side of the thermoelectric device is heated by incident sunlight, while the other side is kept at a cooler temperature. This is known as solar thermoelectric generation.

What is solar–thermal–electric conversion?

Among them, solar–thermal–electric conversion is recognized as one of the most promising technologies to convert solar energy into electricity and such technology has been implemented in many industrial fields 12, 13, 14. Unlike photovoltaic systems, solar–thermal–electric conversion systems store solar energy as heat in thermal storage materials.

What is a solar thermal power plant?

Solar thermal power plants usually have a large field, or array, of collectors that supply heat to a turbine and generator. Several solar thermal power facilities in the United States have two or more solar power plants with separate arrays and generators.

Can a molecular thermal power generation system store and transfer solar power?

The generator can produce, as a proof of concept, a power output of up to 0.1 nW (power output per unit volume up to 1.3 W m −3 ). Our results demonstrate that such a molecular thermal power generation system has a high potential to store and transfer solar power into electricity and is thus potentially independent of geographical restrictions.

Can thermal energy storage systems be used for CSP plants?

Thermal energy storage systems for CSP plants have been investigated since the start of XXI century , . Solar power towers have the potential for storing much more heat than parabolic trough collectors .