There has been a push from the Paris energy summit to work on technical solutions to the carbon emissions problem. Solar power has been a key contributor so far, but continuity of supply and energy storage is the big challenge.

Here’s an idea from the States that addresses the problem.

Deep in Nevada, USA, there is a power plant that can harness the suns energy and store it so that up to 75,000 homes can be provided with continuous power, even when the sun isn’t shining.

The Crescent Dunes plant was built by Solar Reserve and CEO Kevin Smith said "The issue with solar, traditionally, is that it is an intermittent power source - you can only produce electricity when the sun is shining. But, because we store the energy as heat, we can reliably produce electricity 24 hours a day; just like a conventional gas fired power station."

Here’s the clever bit; rather than using regular solar panels, the power plant uses over 10,000 mirrors that follow the sun, set in a concentric circle pattern. These mirrors concentrate and reflect the sun towards a tower in the middle where liquid salt is pumped around.

The reflected light heats up the salts to temperatures of 566°C; the heat is then used to make steam, which drives an electricity generator. The salts are able to maintain their liquid state at these high temperatures which is what makes storage possible.

The power station is an 110MW facility output, with up to 10 hours of storage for ‘on demand’ energy productions day and night.

Climate Change is certainly a hot topic at the moment and whilst renewable energy is thought of as the answer, its biggest short fall is the inability to store it. Perhaps this technology could help?