One drawback for flat mirror arrays and parabolic arrays that are oriented in a north/south direction is the requirement for solar tracking mirror mounts with motor drives. There will, of course, be wear and tear on these mechanisms from daily use and environmental exposure that make them fairly high maintenance items. The parabolic troughs oriented along east/west axes do not need tracking motors, although that comes at a small cost in reduced efficiency.
Another common and remarkably scalable method of generating electricity from solar energy is photovoltaic chips, which can provide power for systems as small as your pocket calculator to as large as a household and beyond. The requirement for such a system is to provide enough collection area for these fairly inefficient units to provide useful amounts of power for the specific energy needs. The expense of such a system is another high hurdle for many desiring to provide for their own energy use.
Great strides are being made in efficiency with these units, and there are even solar collecting coatings that are being developed as I write this.
Geothermal Energy
Large-scale development of geothermal energy has been around for more than a century. It is accomplished by taking advantage of hot water (up to 700 degrees Fahrenheit) from the geothermal source to generate steam or collect steam directly from the source to drive generator turbines. It is a cheap and renewable source of energy.
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