There are three main types of concentrating solar thermal power systems: 1. Linear concentrating systems, which include parabolic troughs and linear Fresnel reflectors 2. Solar power towers 3. Solar dish/engine systems Linear concentrating systems collect the sun's energy using long, rectangular, curved (U-shaped) mirrors. The mirrors focus sunlight onto receivers (tubes) that. A solar power tower system uses a large field of flat, sun-tracking mirrors called heliostatsto reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a receiver on the top of a tower. Solar dish-engine systems use a mirrored dish similar to a very large satellite dish. To reduce costs, the mirrored dish is usually made up of many smaller flat.
