The Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA) is a center for the exploration of the solar energy, situated in the Province of Almería.

History

It was founded in the early 1980s and run by the centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), its location is on the edge of the Tabernas Desert

Tabernas Desert

The Tabernas Desert is a desert in Spain. It is located in the province of Almería about north of the capital, Almería, in the Tabernas municipality...

 in the Spanish province of Almería.

Testing

Over 20,000 m² of mirrors are installed on a 100 acre (0.404686 km²) site. There are several techniques tested under practical conditions, mainly solar thermal power plants. Hydrosol-2

Hydrosol-2

HYDROSOL is series of European Union funded projects for the promotion of renewable energy...

 is a solar power tower

Solar power tower

The solar power tower is a type of solar furnace using a tower to receive the focused sunlight. It uses an array of flat, movable mirrors to focus the sun's rays upon a collector tower...

 and a set of heliostat

Heliostat

A heliostat is a device that includes a mirror, usually a plane mirror, which turns so as to keep reflecting sunlight toward a predetermined target, compensating for the sun's apparent motions in the sky. The target may be a physical object, distant from the heliostat, or a direction in space...

s to collect the solar thermal energy

Solar thermal energy

Solar thermal energy is a technology for harnessing solar energy for thermal energy . Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United States Energy Information Administration as low-, medium-, or high-temperature collectors. Low-temperature collectors are flat plates generally used to heat...

.

External links

• Impressions Plataforma Solar de Almería
• Homepage