Renewable energy is an important part of the new energy policy for the US and solar thermal power is one of the oldest form of renewable energy created by the Sun. It has been widely used since ancient times to heat water and cook. Some examples of solar thermal power plants in the US are L’Aimant solar plant, Mojave Solar Project, Solana Generating Station and Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System. All these plants use solar thermal technology to generate electricity. Though this is an ancient technology, it has been widely promoted only in the recent times.

Currently, there are __ plants in the United States that use solar thermal energy. The power plants vary in both size and location, with most of them being located in the southwestern states. The most successful of these plants is the California Valley Solar Ranch. It has been in operation since early 2013, and opened at a cost of $250 million. At maximum output, the plant can generate up to 280 megawatts of power. This is enough to power 140,000 California homes. Over the course of the plant’s lifetime, it is expected to save enough water to fill 10,000 swimming pools.

Solar Thermal Energy In The Us: The Latest Developments In Us Solar Thermal Energy

Solar thermal energy has been a long-term option available in the United States, and has been in use for decades. The technology is relatively new, and has been used mainly to power water heating systems, but in recent years has been used to provide domestic hot water, greenhouses, and even space heating in some cases. It can be used for both residential and commercial applications.

There has been a lot of recent developments in Solar Thermal Energy in the US. In the last 12 months, companies like BrightSource and SolarReserve, based in the US, have signed agreements for building solar thermal projects for power generation in California. State of Nevada has also approved $7.3 billion for a solar energy plant. BrightSource Energy has signed a contract with the State of California for a solar thermal energy plant which is supposed to generate electricity for 400,000 households. The plant will be built using steam from solar thermal energy. SolarReserve has also signed an agreement with Southern California Public Power Authority to supply clean renewable energy.

What Is The Solar Thermal Energy Potential In The Us?

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, the solar thermal market sector has seen a significant growth in the last several years. In 2012, approximately 137 MW of solar thermal electric capacity was brought online, up substantially from the 57 MW deployed in 2011. The top markets for PV collectors include Florida, Arizona, California, New Jersey, and Hawaii. A state-by-state breakdown of solar thermal power capacity is available, showing that the solar thermal energy market is very strong in California, New Jersey, Arizona, and Florida.

Why is Solar Thermal a viable energy source?

The United States has a huge potential for solar thermal energy, as seen in the map above. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, solar heating is an ideal resource for the United States, with more than 100,000 trillion Btu available. However, solar thermal energy accounts for only 0.04 percent of U.S. industry energy use. Most of the current solar thermal market is in the construction space – for water heating, domestic hot water, and space heating. The trend has been for homes to become more air conditioned than heated as the population becomes increasingly urban, but demand for solar thermal is growing as awareness of environmental issues grows. In addition, there is increasing demand for this technology in the industrial sector, especially in manufacturing and processing.