Promising research trends for solar parabolic dish collectors

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) systems are among the most promising renewable energy technologies in the energy transition scenario. Parabolic dish collectors (PDCs) mainly gather solar power and concentrate it onto a receiver located at the focus of a reflecting paraboloid. They reach the highest concentration factor among CSP configurations. Thus, temperatures even above 1000°C can be achieved. Traditionally, these systems were devoted to producing electricity through a thermodynamic cycle running with a fluid heated up at the receiver working either alone or integrated within micro-cogeneration energy systems or smart grids. However, provided the high temperature these systems can achieve, a wide range of innovative applications related to thermal energy production are emerging. Combined heat and power, water desalination, synthetic fuel, hydrogen production, or thermal energy storage purposes constitute some examples of those new challenging uses. Besides aiming to decentralize electric energy production, parabolic dish collectors can compete or be hybridized with photovoltaic systems to fulfill distributed energy production demand. This work addresses theoretical and practical issues concerning the above novel and challenging applications, filling a gap in the current literature on the prospects for solar parabolic dish collectors. • Bridged theory and practice by analyzing promising research trends in PDC. • PDCs have the highest concentration factor, achieving temperatures of about 1000ºC. • Innovative applications for PDCs include CHP, desalination, TES, or solar fuels. • Integration with smart grids and distributed energy scenarios. • Feasible storage and hybridization configurations are condensed.