Page - 108 - in Water, Energy, and Environment - A Primer

energy technologies via use of renewable-energy portfolio standards (RPS) that require increased production of energy from renewable sources such as solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal. RPS-type mechanisms have been adopted in other countries aswell, includingSweden, Italy,Belgium,Poland, the UnitedKingdom, andChile. A recent trend in several countries is a movement toward deployment of community solar projects in which the output from a solar PV power plant is shared by more than one household. The term ‘community solar’ can refer to both community-owned projects as well as third-party-owned power plants whose electricity output is shared by a community. It is in this second category that utilities see a role for themselves, as their traditional businessmodels are forced to change. Several groups that study the renewable energy industry have projected that community solar will be a significant growth market in the US and other developed nations, and will be a major factor in the electrification of remote areas in developing countries. 8.2.2 Concentratingsolarpower (CSP) Concentrating solar thermal power (CSTP), the most common type of CSP, uses mirrors to focus/concentrate sunlight, delivering heat which can then be used to generate electricity. This can be done by heatingwater to generate steam that drives a conventional turbine generator, or to power a heat-driven engine. The three types of CSTP are power tower, linear concentrator, anddish-engine systems.Each is discussedbelow. Note: usingmirrors to concentrate sunlight is not new. It has been reported for more than 2000 years that Archimedes used mirrors to concentrate sunlight and setRoman ships afire during the siege of Syracuse in 213BC. While much evidence has beenpresented to refute this claim, it is probably too powerful a legend to die. Nevertheless, the legend supports a saying heard Water,Energy, andEnvironment–APrimer108