Direct solar heating for a steam turbine might not be a good idea where water is in short supply.
Unless money is in even shorter supply. Photovoltaic is somewhat pricey, while steam can be condensed and the condensate reused if water is scarce.
If you have skilled labor but are short on funds you might still consider steam power. Steam engines are 18th century technology and while there are risks working with high-temperature high-pressure steam they're well known and can be managed.
By the way: If working with a solar concentrator there are a couple things to keep in mind - that don't show up in the literature very often:
- A solar concentrator focuses sunlight to a dangerous hot spot even when it's only partially assembled.
- A solar concentrator focuses sunlight to a dangerous hot spot even when it's not pointed directly at the sun.
- The hot spot is invisible until there's something in it (like your head - hair, eyeballs, etc.)
So when constructing it, don't lean into it to put another piece of mirror on the backing when there is sunlight falling on the mirrors that are already present. You might put some part of yourself into the hotspot (or the region near it) and thus blind and/or seriously burn yourself.
