Part of that depends on the thermal solar technology. The systems with collectors that collect the heat into a central generator is one approach, but there is also the system where each individual unit is a generator, such as the Stirling generator systems.

And of course, for the hybrid system linked to above that concentrates the solar onto a CPV module and harvests heat from that module ~ which also serves to provide the required cooling ~ the heat is more likely to be used directly, for solar Heating / AC, or solar hot water, or industrial process heat, so there is not necessarily any central thermal generator in the system. That is an especially interesting approach for urban uses in low income nations.

I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.