If you're curious as to how the thermal energy is extracted:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038092X10...

> Heat has generally been successfully extracted from the lower convective zone (LCZ) of solar ponds by two main methods. In the first, hot brine from the LCZ is circulated through an external heat exchanger, as tested and demonstrated in El Paso and elsewhere. In the second method, a heat transfer fluid circulates in a closed cycle through an in-pond heat exchanger, as used in the Pyramid Hill solar pond, in Victoria, Australia.