Submitted on January 26th, 2008 by Howie Goodell (not verified)
It should be possible to build heliostats very cheaply, using flat reflectors as cheap as a triangular Mylar kite, and mass-produced distributed microcontrollers to aim them. These plus 40% conversion efficiency solar power towers could really change the equation for the feasibility of large-scale terrestrial solar power generation.
Another point: wavelength-selective mirrors such as those used in Thermal PhotoVoltaic (TPV) generation (e.g. http://www.appliancedesign.com/CDA/Articles/Feature_Article/21925cf0a068e010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0____) could split out the far-infrared component of sunlight that even these cells cannot capture, for use in steam or Stirling-cycle engines. This would reduce the cooling requirements of the photovoltaics, while potentially boosting total conversion efficiency to over 50% of solar radiation converted to electricity. Large numbers of efficient and cost-effective plants, in desert regions where there are few alternative uses for the land, could make terrestrial solar power a much more significant part of the sustainable energy equation than is usually thought.
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It should be possible to
Submitted on January 26th, 2008 by Howie Goodell (not verified)It should be possible to build heliostats very cheaply, using flat reflectors as cheap as a triangular Mylar kite, and mass-produced distributed microcontrollers to aim them. These plus 40% conversion efficiency solar power towers could really change the equation for the feasibility of large-scale terrestrial solar power generation.
Another point: wavelength-selective mirrors such as those used in Thermal PhotoVoltaic (TPV) generation (e.g. http://www.appliancedesign.com/CDA/Articles/Feature_Article/21925cf0a068e010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0____) could split out the far-infrared component of sunlight that even these cells cannot capture, for use in steam or Stirling-cycle engines. This would reduce the cooling requirements of the photovoltaics, while potentially boosting total conversion efficiency to over 50% of solar radiation converted to electricity. Large numbers of efficient and cost-effective plants, in desert regions where there are few alternative uses for the land, could make terrestrial solar power a much more significant part of the sustainable energy equation than is usually thought.