Solar collector power generation plants, such as this one in Spain, work by concentrating solar energy into a small region to drive a steam turbine.
Direct sunlight delivers about \(1000~\mbox{Watts/m}^2\) of energy in the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet parts of the spectrum. I want to use mirrors with a total effective area \(A\) to direct this solar energy into a cube \(1~\mbox{m}\) on a side, heating the cube to a steady \(100^\circ\) Celsius so I can start generating steam and running a turbine. What is the necessary effective mirror surface area \(A\) in \(\mbox{m}^2\) to do this?
Note that your \(A\) will be smaller than you might expect. This is because we have used components that are 100% efficient - all the solar energy gets directed onto the cube. In a real life situation the amount of solar energy redirected by the mirrors is much, much less.
Assumptions
Image credit: Abengoa
by
Andrzej Veitia
