Odeillo solar furnace, Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via, Pyreneees-Orientales, France. This array of 9500 parabolic mirrors receives sunlight reflected from an array of 64 flat mirrors. The parabolic mirrors focus the sunlight onto an area in the central tower. This concentrates the energy in a small area and achieves temperatures of up to 3500 degrees Celsius. This can be used to generate thermal power, or to directly heat objects.