Mirror-Based Solar Device as Cheap as Coal-Burning Electric Power Plants
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By on November 3rd, 2009 |
Not long ago, the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab from the University of Arizona has produced a prototype of a solar device that is able to give energy at a price comparable with the cheapest fossil fuels.Roger Angel, the inventor of the device thinks that he is able to use mirrors, 21 segments arrayed in a parabola on a lightweight aluminum frame, to focus sun’s light rays on a small solar cell. The prototype will be sent to a military base (Raytheon Missile Systems) to make further investigations if the device could be used as a portable solar generator in the battlefield to make electricity whenever needed. Eric Betterton, a professor from the University of Arizona, is the main investigator of this project.
The hand-coated mirrors are forged individually in the lab and the cost of the assembly with engineering costs is about $300,000.
The director and founder of Mirror Lab, Prof. Roger Angel, says that the assembly is $200 worth of glass and could be mass produced for about $1,500, making the device producing the electricity at the cost of the cheapest coal-burning electrical plants. It looks like there’s no real reason to continue with coal burning plants anymore.
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Nov 4th, 2009 at 11:29 am
So why don’t they mass produce them? I mean really.. For that price I’d buy one for my own home. Especially if I could sell some of it back into the grid.
Nov 5th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Nice post thanks for sharing it with us..i think the future lies on these kind of energies and I think this is the first step moving towards the future..
GREAT.
Nov 7th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
I think that the company will start mass production when they will finish all the investigations. As they just made the first prototype it’s almost certain there’s still some improvement to be made for a higher efficiency.
Cristi