Solar Thermal Electricity (STE), also known as Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technology, is generated by transforming the thermal gathered from the concentrated sun rays into mechanical energy by a thermodynamic conversion cycle and later on into electricity by means of an alternator. It provides clean and reliable power in units ranging from few kW to several hundred MW (i.e 3 kW to 250 MW). The first pilot projects where built at the early 80s in Spain, USA, France, Italy, Japan and Russia and the first commercial STE (CSP) plants where build in California from 1986 till 1990.

At the end of 2010 there are around 1,500 MW in commercial operation in the world, mainly in Spain and in the USA.

In Europe around 2,000 MW of solar thermal power plants are either recently operating or under construction, mainly in Spain and some small projects in Portugal and Italy. The installed capacity in Europe is expected to be of 2,500 MW by 2013. The technical potential in Europe in the long run is very high, over 60.000 MW within reasonable generation costs.

At different stages of technical development, there are four main CSPs technologies to produce thermo-electricity from the sun: Parabolic Trough Plants, Central Receiver Plants, Dish Stirling Systems and Linear Fresnel Systems. Each technology will progress thanks to an intensive innovation effort and a favorable policy framework which will help to follow a continuous decreasing investment cost curve and satisfying the specific needs of the power market.

In the mid-long term, these technologies will play an important role in the South of Europe and the Mediterranean area and in other regions located in the world's 'Sun Belt'.

The World's "Sun Belt"

The challenge in the coming years. The World's "Sun Belt" that extends from latitudes 35° north to 35° south, receives several thousand times the world's energy demand: a resource which is currently not exploited. On the other hand, dramatic changes are to be introduced in the current energy systems to mitigate their negative impact on the environment and the world's climate. A large part of this enormous energy could be harnessed through solar thermal technologies, conveyed and used in a sustainable way.