Operator Southern California Edison Solar Power Plant Editorial Photo

Southern California Edison Solar Power Plant Solar 2Solar power towers use thousands of individual sun-tracking mirrors (called heliostats) to reflect solar energy onto a central receiver located on top of a tall tower. [8] The receiver collects the sun's heat in a heat-transfer fluid that flows through the receiver. The U. S. Department of Energy, with a consortium of utilities and industry, built the first two large-scale, demonstration solar power towers in the desert near Barstow, California.