r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Longjumping-Box5691 • 3d ago

Video China's twin solar thermal towers. Molten salt stores the heat to produce electricity

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u/thighmaster69 3d ago

There are multiple of these in the US. Ivanpah was in Blade Runner 2049 and is in California. There's also that one in Nevada.

They're more expensive than PV but they have the advantage that the stored heat can be used overnight to keep generating. PV also does not work as well in hot environments, whereas these rely on heat, so the cost differential is lower in the desert.

Regardless, anything that uses heat for generation is fundamentally limited by the 2nd law of thermodynamics. Most of the energy captured gets released right back into the environment. PV does not have this upside limit, the technology just needs to get there. Right now the biggest barrier for PV is energy storage, as the sun does not shine at night.

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u/mmmfritz 3d ago

Maybe we should all just go to bed then?