Valves in solar thermal power generation

The use of technologies that provide renewable energy from sources such as sun, wind, water or geothermal energy are an effective way to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels and the environmental impact caused by gas emissions. Within alternative energy sources solar radiation provide a substantial contribution to renewable and clean energy. Unlike coal, oil or gas it provides sufficient inexpensive energy, and is sufficiently available in the solar belt of the earth. But the upfront development costs, financial investment and operating costs are higher compared to the conventional thermal power plants at present. Due to the incentives in the development of solar technology, it is becoming more feasible, reliable and profitable technology. Governments are forcing the development of generating electricity from renewable and alternative sources of clean energy. It is a high growth market which has significant future potential. Due to reliability and harsh operating conditions, control valves have a critical role in solar thermal power plants. Examples for such control valves are presented in this article.