Parabolic Dish Collectors for Concentrated Solar Power: A Comprehensive Review on Their Subsystems and Overall Integration

Parabolic dish collectors (PDCs) focus solar radiation onto a small area, minimizing the heat-loss area of the solar receiver and improving the heating of the working fluid. This fluid usually drives a Stirling-like or micro-gas turbine (Brayton-like) power generator. PDCs, initially intended for small-capacity applications, are well-suited for electricity and heat generation in remote rural areas, working alone and/or as parabolic dish arrays. PDCs have received considerable attention among solar thermal collectors due to their high concentration ratios and the high temperatures they achieve. However, nowadays, they are the least developed and least commissioned among concentrated solar power configurations, lacking a well-established technology. This review aims to compile the evolution of research on PDCs over recent years from a global perspective and is mainly focused on the subsystems constituting a PDC plant, their integration, and overall system optimisation, thereby addressing a gap in the current literature. Methodological tools used in the field are comprehensively revised, and recent related projects are summarized. Some innovative and promising applications are also highlighted.