Mirror mirror on the wall, what’s the greatest energy source of all? The sun. Enough energy from the sun falls on the Earth everyday to power our homes and businesses for almost 30 … … years. Yet we’ve only just begun to tap its potential. You may have heard about solar electric power to light homes or solar thermal power used to heat water, but did you know there is such a thing as solar thermal-electric power? Electric utility companies are using mirrors to concentrate heat from the sun to produce environmentally friendly

Mirror mirror on the wall, what’s the greatest energy source of all? The sun. Enough energy from the sun falls on the Earth everyday to power our homes and businesses for almost 30 years. Yet we’ve only just begun to tap its potential. You may have heard about solar electric power to light homes or solar thermal power used to heat water, but did you know there is such a thing as solar thermal-electric power? Electric utility companies are using mirrors to concentrate heat from the sun to produce environmentally friendly electricity for cities, especially in the southwestern United States. The southwestern United States is focusing on concentrating solar energy because it’s one of the world’s best areas for sunlight. The Southwest receives up to twice the sunlight as other regions in the country. This abundance of solar energy makes concentrating solar power plants an attractive alternative to traditional power plants, which burn polluting fossil fuels such as oil and coal. Fossil fuels also must be continually purchased and refined to use. Unlike traditional power plants, concentrating solar power systems provide an environmentally benign source of energy, produce virtually no emissions, and consume no fuel other than sunlight. About the only impact concentrating solar power plants have on the environment is land use. Although the amount of land a concentrating solar power plant occupies is larger than that of a fossil fuel plant, both types of plants use about the same amount of land because fossil fuel plants use additional land for mining and exploration as well as road building to reach the mines. Other benefits of concentrating solar power plants include low operating costs, and the ability to produce power during high-demand energy periods and to help increase our energy security—our country’s independence from foreign oil imports. Because they store energy, they can operate in cloudy weather and after sunset. When combined with fossil fuels as a hybrid system, they can operate around the clock regardless of weather. Concentrating solar power plants also create two and a half times as many skilled jobs as traditional plants.

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