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energy
October 2008 
A New Solar Power Race....This Will Change the Way We Look at Sun
Posted on Oct 11th, 2008
by 
solarpowerboy
solarpowerboy
Interesting News from CNet
Even with the teetering economy, solar companies are bullish that tapping free energy from the sun is a solid financial move.
SkyFuel, a company spun out of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), on Friday is hosting an event to unveil its solar power plant system: a parabolic trough made from reflective plastic. Colorado Gov. Bill Rittner will speak at the event, held at SkyFuel's research center in Arvada, Colo.
SkyFuel's parabolic trough, made with reflective plastic rather than mirrored glass, a design which it says lowers the overall cost.
Parabolic troughs have been around for decades and are considered the incumbent technology in concentrating solar thermal power plants, which are suited for hot desert climates like in Spain and the U.S. southwest.
Reflective troughs concentrate sunlight onto a liquid which is converted to steam, which turns a power generator.
SkyFuel's enhancement on the basic shape is a trough that uses silver encased in plastic, rather than mirrored glass. Although silver is certainly an expensive material, using plastic cuts down on the overall cost, according to Chris Huntington, vice president of business development at SkyFuel.
He said that the cost of an installed solar power plant using its equipment is about 25 percent less than existing parabolic troughs.
The company estimates that it can deliver electricity at about 15 cents per kilowatt-hour. That's in the range of the other solar thermal technologies (i.e. 12 Volt Solar Panels), but still more than a natural gas or coal power plant.
Several solar thermal companies have sprouted up in the past five years, with different designs such as Ausra's Fresnel lens glass reflectors or eSolar solar power tower.
Demand is driven by state-level renewable portfolio standards. Utilities in California, for example, need to purchase 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2010.
Even with the teetering economy, solar companies are bullish that tapping free energy from the sun is a solid financial move.
SkyFuel, a company spun out of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), on Friday is hosting an event to unveil its solar power plant system: a parabolic trough made from reflective plastic. Colorado Gov. Bill Rittner will speak at the event, held at SkyFuel's research center in Arvada, Colo.
SkyFuel's parabolic trough, made with reflective plastic rather than mirrored glass, a design which it says lowers the overall cost.
Parabolic troughs have been around for decades and are considered the incumbent technology in concentrating solar thermal power plants, which are suited for hot desert climates like in Spain and the U.S. southwest.
Reflective troughs concentrate sunlight onto a liquid which is converted to steam, which turns a power generator.
SkyFuel's enhancement on the basic shape is a trough that uses silver encased in plastic, rather than mirrored glass. Although silver is certainly an expensive material, using plastic cuts down on the overall cost, according to Chris Huntington, vice president of business development at SkyFuel.
He said that the cost of an installed solar power plant using its equipment is about 25 percent less than existing parabolic troughs.
The company estimates that it can deliver electricity at about 15 cents per kilowatt-hour. That's in the range of the other solar thermal technologies (i.e. 12 Volt Solar Panels), but still more than a natural gas or coal power plant.
Several solar thermal companies have sprouted up in the past five years, with different designs such as Ausra's Fresnel lens glass reflectors or eSolar solar power tower.
Demand is driven by state-level renewable portfolio standards. Utilities in California, for example, need to purchase 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2010.
Access: Public
