A concentrating solar power plant in which mirrors called heliostats concentrate the sun’s radiation onto an absorber located on a tall central tower, which is heated to a high temperature. Temperatures in the absorber typically exceed 500 °C. The collected energy can be used directly as heat, or in a steam cycle to generate electricity. Some central tower solar power plants store the energy in molten salts based thermal storage tanks and can thus use it even when the sun is not shining.