Parabolic trough solar technology is the most proven and lowest cost large-scale solar
power technology available today, primarily because of the nine large commercial-scale
solar power plants that are operating in the California Mojave Desert. These plants,
developed by Luz International Limited and referred to as Solar Electric Generating
Systems (SEGS), range in size from 14–80 MW and represent 354 MW of installed
electric generating capacity. More than 2,000,000 m2 of parabolic trough collector technology
has been operating daily for up to 18 years, and as the year 2001 ended, these
plants had accumulated 127 years of operational experience. The Luz collector technology
has demonstrated its ability to operate in a commercial power plant environment like
no other solar technology in the world. Although no new plants have been built since
1990, significant advancements in collector and plant design have been made possible by
the efforts of the SEGS plants operators, the parabolic trough industry, and solar research
laboratories around the world. This paper reviews the current state of the art of parabolic
trough solar power technology and describes the R&D efforts that are in progress to
enhance this technology. The paper also shows how the economics of future parabolic
trough solar power plants are expected to improve.