Fig. 15. Specular reflection from solar concentrators. Fig. 16. Typical thermal cycle SPS. 7. THERMAL CONVERSION SYSTEMS Thermal cycle solar energy conversion systems, primarily Brayton and Rankine cycles, have been extensively studied as alternatives to the reference photovoltaic systems (5,6). The best thermal systems have been found to be somewhat heavier and more costly than photovoltaics and have consequently not been adopted as the reference SPS. For this reason, the visibility properties of thermal systems have not been examined in detail. However, a brief consideration of their basic characteristics can permit some general conclusions. In a typical configuration (Figure 16), the solar collector consists of a large con-
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