Editing Solar Energy Generating Systems (section)

==Principle of operation==
[[Image:Parabolic trough.svg|thumb|left|upright|Sketch of a Parabolic Trough Collector]]
The installation uses [[parabolic trough]], [[solar thermal]] technology along with [[natural gas]] to generate [[electricity]]. About 90% of the electricity is produced by the [[sunlight]].{{citation needed|date=June 2013}} Natural gas is only used when the solar power is insufficient to meet the demand from [[Southern California Edison]], the distributor of power in southern California.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-electricity-solar/|title=California invested heavily in solar power. Now there's so much that other states are sometimes paid to take it|last=Penn|first=Ivan|website=www.latimes.com|date=22 June 2017 |language=en|access-date=2019-02-25}}</ref>

===Mirrors===
The parabolic mirrors are shaped like quarter-pipes. The sun shines on glass panels, which are 94%&nbsp;reflective, unlike a typical mirror, which is only 70%&nbsp;reflective. The mirrors automatically track the sun throughout the day. The greatest source of mirror breakage is wind, with 3,000 mirrors typically replaced each year. Operators can turn the mirrors to protect them during intense wind storms. An automated washing mechanism is used to periodically clean the parabolic reflective panels.  The term "field area" is assessed as the actual collector area.

===Heat transfer===
The sunlight bounces off the mirrors and is directed to a central tube filled with [[synthetic oil]], which heats to over {{convert|400|C|F|sigfig=2}}. The reflected light focused at the central tube is 71 to 80&nbsp;times more intense than the ordinary sunlight. The synthetic oil transfers its heat to water, which boils and drives the [[Rankine cycle]] steam turbine,<ref name=solel>{{cite web
|url=http://www.solel.com/products/pgeneration/ls2/
|title=Solar thermal power generation
| publisher = Solel Solar Systems Ltd
|access-date=2010-09-30
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080601185224/http://www.solel.com/products/pgeneration/ls2/
|archive-date= 2008-06-01
}}</ref> thereby generating electricity. Synthetic oil is used to carry the heat (instead of water) to keep the pressure within manageable parameters.