Molten salt technology is generally used in solar thermal applications to continue generating power after the sun goes down. The heat from the salt continues to power turbines for a time in the absence of direct sunlight.
A recent Chicago Tribune article notes that at least 80 projects are under consideration in California that would use the molten salt technology for solar thermal power, which focuses sunlight collected from mirrors on to a single supply of fluid that is then turned to steam.
The newspaper reports that the molten salt can be kept hot enough to help generate electricity for days and possibly weeks, and that this practice currently works better than storing electricity in batteries.
The emerging solar thermal industry got a boost earlier this spring when Pacific Gas and Electric announced a deal where it would buy energy generated from seven such facilities in California starting in 2012.
