When you think of solar power you may only think of solar panels that can convert the suns light into electricity, but there is a new surge in solar thermal energy that is very exciting.  This type of power uses the heat generated by the sun to turn water into super heated steam which in turn will turn a turbine which converts this into electricity for consumption.

How is this achieved?  Mirrors, and lots of them.  Bright Source Energy is the company that has spear headed a project in Israel and also in the Mojave desert and had a lot of success in proving to the world that solar thermal energy could produce as much power as a nuclear reactor.  At 900 Megawatts of power, this is a clean and renewable energy source that can keep working for years and years to come.

Each mirror is supposed to be able to be able to produce enough energy for a single home’s power needs, and new mirrors can be added all of the time.  These mirrors have little motors on them which allow them to track the sun and reflect the light onto a boiler full of water.  This water will be heated to 550 degrees Celcius or 1,000 degrees Farenheit giving the steam the ability to turn the huge turbines and pump out some serious power.

Check out this video about Bright Source Energy to see how the system works.  I think you will agree that solar thermal energy is an exciting new way to think about generating power, and it won’t be long before systems are developed where you can make your own solar thermal system at home.

Let me know what you think in the comment section below as well.

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