Three ways to generate solar thermal power

There are mainly three types of solar thermal power plants: concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, linear concentrating systems, and solar power towers. . Solar thermal energy (STE) is a form of energy and a technology for harnessing solar energy to generate thermal energy for use in industry, and in the residential and commercial sectors. PV c nverts sunlight directly into electricit apture and focus sunlight onto a receiver. This isn't a thing of the future, either. Between 1984 and 1991, the United States built nine such plants in California's Mojave Desert, and today they continue to. . Solar technologies convert sunlight into electrical energy either through photovoltaic (PV) panels or through mirrors that concentrate solar radiation. [pdf]