Solar power heats up energy possibilities

(CNN) — In the desert of southern Spain, just west of Seville, a sea of giant mirrors is reflecting the sun’s energy to provide “concentrated solar power” (CSP) while illuminating the path to a new wave of green energy projects.

The 624 carefully positioned mirrors reflect the sun’s heat towards a 50 meter-tall central tower where it is concentrated and used to boil water into steam.

The superheated steam is then used to turn a turbine that can produce up to 11 megawatts of electricity — enough power for 6,000 homes — according Solucar, the Spanish company that has built the power plant.

While traditional solar panels, photovoltaic cells, convert the sun’s power directly into electricity, CSP focuses power from a wide area and uses the vast heat generated to make electricity in a similar way to that produced from coal or oil.

The Spanish tower, known as PS10, is the first phase of an ambitious development. By 2013 it is hoped that additional towers will create a “solar farm” with an output of 300 megawatts, which would be enough power for 180,000 homes, or equivalent to the entire population of nearby Seville.

CNN