A Hypothetical Concentrating Solar Dish Engine for Energy Autonomous Communities

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) is a solar energy collection technique that harvests thermal energy by concentrating sunlight on a small area. Alternative to the photovoltaic approach, CSP is a relatively simple and accessible concept that can be fabricated and maintained without dependence on industrial-grade manufacturing. The physical principles of one such CSP design concept, the parabolic solar-concentrating dish-engine system, will be explored (henceforth called the Dish-Stirling System). Specifically, this paper will give treatment of one useful heat-engine design, the thermodynamic argument for CSP collection, and a practical structural alternative for the reflecting dish material. In enactment, a machine like this could be scaled and implemented to power small, energy–autonomous communities, an array of which could constitute a decentralized distribution of resources with large humanitarian and sustainable–development implications