<p>A recent renewed interest in alternative energy technologies has revitalized interest in solar thermal technology, a type of solar power that uses the sun&rsquo;s heat rather than its light to produce electricity. Although the technology for solar thermal has existed for more than two decades, projects have languished while fossil fuels remained cheap. But solar thermal&rsquo;s time may now have come &mdash; and mirrored arrays of solar thermal power plants, hopefully, will soon bloom in many of the world&rsquo;s deserts.</p>

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<p>Large desert-based power plants concentrate the sun&rsquo;s energy to produce high-temperature heat for industrial processes or to convert the solar energy into electricity. It is quite interesting to note that, as per the recent reports on Solar Power, the resource calculations show that just seven states in the U.S. Southwest can provide more than 7 million MW of solar generating capacity, i.e., roughly 10 times that of total electricity generating capacity of U.S. today from all sources.</p>
