page_title: Concentrated solar power
section_title: Dish Stirling
hierarchical_section_title: Concentrated solar power / Current technology / Dish Stirling
caption_attribution_description: English: Solar Stirling engine — solar power in the Mojave Desert, San Bernardino County, California. Credits Source: http://www.wapa.gov/es/pubs/esb/1998/98Aug/at_solargen.htm
context_page_description: Concentrated solar power systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight onto a receiver. Electricity is generated when the concentrated light is converted to heat, which drives a heat engine connected to an electrical power generator or powers a thermochemical reaction.
  CSP had a global total installed capacity of 5,500 MW in 2018, up from 354 MW in 2005. Spain accounted for almost half of the world's capacity, at 2,300 MW, despite no new capacity entering commercial operation in the country since 2013.
  The United States follows with 1,740 MW. Interest is also notable in North Africa and the Middle East, as well as India and China.
  The global market was initially dominated by parabolic-trough plants, which accounted for 90% of CSP plants at one point.
  Since about 2010, central power tower CSP has been favored in new plants due to its higher temperature operation — up to 565 °C vs. trough's maximum of 400 °C — which promises greater efficiency.
context_section_description: A dish Stirling or dish engine system consists of a stand-alone parabolic reflector that concentrates light onto a receiver positioned at the reflector's focal point. The reflector tracks the Sun along two axes. The working fluid in the receiver is heated to 250–700 °C (482–1,292 °F) and then used by a Stirling engine to generate power. Parabolic-dish systems provide high solar-to-electric efficiency (between 31% and 32%), and their modular nature provides scalability. The Stirling Energy Systems (SES), United Sun Systems (USS) and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) dishes at UNLV, and Australian National University's Big Dish in Canberra, Australia are representative of this technology. A world record for solar to electric efficiency was set at 31.25% by SES dishes at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) in New Mexico on 31 January 2008, a cold, bright day. According to its developer, Ripasso Energy, a Swedish firm, in 2015 its Dish Sterling system being tested in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa showed 34% efficiency. The SES installation in Maricopa, Phoenix was the largest Stirling Dish power installation in the world until it was sold to United Sun Systems. Subsequently, larger parts of the installation have been moved to China as part of the huge energy demand.
caption: A dish Stirling
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