(Image courtesy: greenpeace.org)
Solar thermal is the combination of solar and thermal energy generation. Solar power (the sun rays) is used to heat up a liquid (maybe directly water, or some other liquid which then heats up water), and boils the water to steam, which then runs a turbine. Startup ausra has been on this for almost 10 years, and business is just picking up. I think it is a brilliant idea – considering the fact that photovoltaic cells are still pretty expensive.