A company called SolFocus (which was spun out of Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in 2006) has started installation of a 3-megawatt solar power plant in southern Spain. SolFocus makes solar cells that use much less silicon than regular panels because they use lenses and mirrors to concentrate sunlight. The solar concentrators magnify sunlight 500 times, which according to the company, is the “sweet spot” between higher energy production and excessive heat.
The blocks have two sets of mirrors: mirrors on bottom face reflect sunlight back to mirrors on the top face, and these in turn reflect the light on to one-millimeter-square photovoltaic cells popped into the center of the bottom mirrors.
Silicon-based solar panels today cost close to $3 per watt to produce. Solfocus says that larger scale production of its concentrators (in the area of gigawatts) would cut the cost per watt to just 50 cents. The second generation version of the device should cut costs further to as low as 32 cents per watt, according to the company.
Via: Press Release
4 responses so far ↓
1 john // Jan 18, 2008 at 3:06 am
Nice to see this idea being seriously tried, but it looks expensive to make. Unless your going to cool the cells and get some heat why use 2 mirrors and lose a few % to another mirror? I’d look into making multiple mirrors in one step instead of combining all those individual ones.
But seriously, I don’t see this design working on a large scale. You lose light on double reflection and then lose most to PV a cell. You’ll need serious copper because of the DC over distances will cause losses etc. A concentrating steam plant only reflects 1 time to 1 point and it uses most the sunlight; steam to electric conversion is the best tech we have; put those at ideal sizes. Make cheaper heat storage and I think it would help more.
2 tike // Jan 18, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Well, to counter your argument John, it doesn’t really matter what tech is involved–be it steam, photovoltaics… what matters most is the final cost to the consumer and the cost to the environment. Percentage efficiency rate is almost meaningless: sunlight is free. If SolFocus can get cheap, clean power to the consumer, they will succeed.
If they get past the oil companies.
3 curt // May 7, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Spain has become, we could say almost ‘ultra active’, in last few years, and especially, after the prime minister appointed almost only women to ministerial positions, even Ministry of defense.
It looks like the women are much more environmentally educated, perceptive and knowledgeable, than men. I hope, the other governments is going to follow Spanih example, soon.
p.s.
There is also correlation between Spain and Germany, where the Prime Minister Angela Merkel, is highly technically educated (Ph.D. in nuclear physics) and is very actively leading Germany into the land of renewable energy sources.
4 Uncle B // Jul 6, 2008 at 11:16 am
At last, the world’s best scientists, armed with the latest technologies are focused on clean, sustainable energy sources. Next, we will need educated population regulation, to match the availability of power and resources. Indiscriminate breeding on a whim, with no financial responsibility to the off-spring will be humanities undoing if not soon controlled!
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