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Google builds prototype mirror for solar energy
San Francisco: Internet giant Google, has developed a prototype for a new mirror technology that could cut by half the cost of building a solar thermal plant. According to Bill Weihl, company's green energy czar if development and testing go well, he could see the product being ready in one to three years. "Things have progressed. We have an internal prototype" Weihl said in an interview, according to Reuters.
Google has been looking at unusual materials for the mirror's reflective surface and the substrate on which the mirror is mounted. In solar thermal technology, the sun's energy is used to heat a substance that produces steam to run a turbine. Mirrors focus the sun's rays on the heated substance. "There is a decent chance that in a small number of years, we could have a 2-X reduction in cost," said Weihl.
Google has invested in two solar thermal companies, eSolar and BrightSource, with which it has discussed the new mirror technology, Weihl said. He said the technology was not at a stage where it could be tested externally, but he added that both eSolar and BrightSource were interested in it.
Google has been looking at unusual materials for the mirror's reflective surface and the substrate on which the mirror is mounted. In solar thermal technology, the sun's energy is used to heat a substance that produces steam to run a turbine. Mirrors focus the sun's rays on the heated substance. "There is a decent chance that in a small number of years, we could have a 2-X reduction in cost," said Weihl.
Google has invested in two solar thermal companies, eSolar and BrightSource, with which it has discussed the new mirror technology, Weihl said. He said the technology was not at a stage where it could be tested externally, but he added that both eSolar and BrightSource were interested in it.
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Reader's comments (5)
1: ofcourse google is google.
and no one can serve better facilties for net surfer campare than google.
hats off to google...
keep it up.
and no one can serve better facilties for net surfer campare than google.
hats off to google...
keep it up.
Posted by: Dhiraj singh karki - 01 Mar, 2010
2:
In an interesting article Combined Thin Film Photovoltaic and Reflective 3D Parabolic Panels for Utility-Scale Solar Dishes Year of Energy 2009 Sigma Xi the Scientific Research Society James C. Townsend and Francis C.W.Fung wrote
Photovoltaic PV electrical generation has become more efficient in recent years, but it still has been unable to move beyond very limited, special purpose usage and it is only able to capture a relatively small amount on the incident radiation. The cost of silicon solar cells makes the time for recovery of investment too long for utilities to consider their use it has confined them to applications such as space localities without convenient utility power and dedicated conservationists for whom the cost is not the primary consideration. More general acceptance of PV electricity requires better economics.
However, solar power is more than just light to fully utilize the bountiful solar power readily available it is necessary consider a wider spectrum of solar energy. Tests have proven that three dimensional 3D solar thermal concentrators can provide the high temperatures required for utility and industrial thermal applications. The demonstration in 1984 by Sandia/SES of a 25kW concentrator and Stirling engine generator system was a technical success that opened the way for further large 3D solar concentrator development.
Disappointingly as successful as the demonstration was current dish designs for utility scale applications are still based on its quarter of a century old technology. Yet there remain many issues of economics durability maintenance weight, transportation ease of construction and life cycle cost for utility scale solar concentrators. For example although Sandia/SES generated power that was fully acceptable for the electric grid the costs of maintaining the system led to its abandonment after a relatively short time. Because the mirrors were glass they were heavy and fragile requiring a sturdy and heavy structure to support them and hold the parabolic shape as the dish tracked the sun. The silvered mirror surface also was susceptible to degradation or damage and its reflectivity was only moderate in much of the solar thermal spectrum. What remains to be demonstrated noted NREL s Sara Kurtz, who leads the lab s high efficiency solar research is whether solar concentrators especially their sensitive optics will prove reliable in the field.
Describing a press conference in Paris by Todd D. Stern, the State Department Special Envoy for Climate Change the May 27 2009 New York Times Dot Earth blog reported:
The United States is proposing to make a seismic change in U.S. policy he said. The president is proposing to do that and Congress as well is in the middle of working on this.
We’re probably the only country that s talking about actual hard mandatory policy all the way out not just to 2020 but 2025 30 40 50 not simply goals Mr. Stern said.
We’ve got a huge problem we re facing he said. But added that the world has to be realistic as well avoiding overly ambitious agreements that, while flashy can t be carried out. My watchword throughout all of the time I’ve been in office is science and pragmatism Mr. Stern said. We need to have an agreement that is consistent with the science but that is also pragmatic so you can actually get it done.
To meet the presidential goals utilities the U.S. and the world needs fields of modular solar power collection systems that are light efficient and cost effective to install and that have lower maintenance concerns than current systems and greater robustness in harsh environments such as blowing sand. Solar thermal concentrators combined with thin-film photovoltaics could well be the commanding technology for such solar power applications.
Solution
The solution to the problem stated above is a new generation of 3D solar concentrators that lends itself to utility scale applications. The proposed Solar Thermal Concentrator STC dish is innovative, going beyond the 1984 technology of the Sandia SES project and overcoming its limitations. A large electric utility system made up of mass-produced 50kW STC modules with an advanced Stirling engine and generator should be able to generate utility grade electric power at the $0.85 per kWh cost quoted for natural gas fired systems but with less maintenance and no ongoing fuel costs. The addition of transparent thin-film PV sheets to increase the power generated holds promise of providing an even further cost advantages. The performance improvements that modular electric generation by solar thermal concentrators with Stirling engines and transparent thin-film PV sheets provide will make this new technology a viable and preferred option for electric utilities. A search of over 30,000 patents has shown that the technology described below represents innovations in dish design and reflective coatings.
The Solar Thermal Concentrator
The principal problem with current solar concentrator dishes is their use of glass mirrors. The new technology to replace curved glass mirrors is a faceted panel of flat plate reflective mirror elements. The proprietary connectors joining these identical metallic elements together are adjustable so that the reflection from each element falls within the target area of a Stirling engine. Typically that target area is eighteen inches across and the individual elements are ten inches square, an optimal size for maintaining full concentration of the sunlight on the target while allowing for some inaccuracy or deflection of the elements. These faceted panels have the advantage that they are more robust lighter easier to construct and transport, and lower in cost compared to fragile heavy expensive conventional curved glass mirror panels.
Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP)
In an interesting article Combined Thin Film Photovoltaic and Reflective 3D Parabolic Panels for Utility-Scale Solar Dishes Year of Energy 2009 Sigma Xi the Scientific Research Society James C. Townsend and Francis C.W.Fung wrote
Photovoltaic PV electrical generation has become more efficient in recent years, but it still has been unable to move beyond very limited, special purpose usage and it is only able to capture a relatively small amount on the incident radiation. The cost of silicon solar cells makes the time for recovery of investment too long for utilities to consider their use it has confined them to applications such as space localities without convenient utility power and dedicated conservationists for whom the cost is not the primary consideration. More general acceptance of PV electricity requires better economics.
However, solar power is more than just light to fully utilize the bountiful solar power readily available it is necessary consider a wider spectrum of solar energy. Tests have proven that three dimensional 3D solar thermal concentrators can provide the high temperatures required for utility and industrial thermal applications. The demonstration in 1984 by Sandia/SES of a 25kW concentrator and Stirling engine generator system was a technical success that opened the way for further large 3D solar concentrator development.
Disappointingly as successful as the demonstration was current dish designs for utility scale applications are still based on its quarter of a century old technology. Yet there remain many issues of economics durability maintenance weight, transportation ease of construction and life cycle cost for utility scale solar concentrators. For example although Sandia/SES generated power that was fully acceptable for the electric grid the costs of maintaining the system led to its abandonment after a relatively short time. Because the mirrors were glass they were heavy and fragile requiring a sturdy and heavy structure to support them and hold the parabolic shape as the dish tracked the sun. The silvered mirror surface also was susceptible to degradation or damage and its reflectivity was only moderate in much of the solar thermal spectrum. What remains to be demonstrated noted NREL s Sara Kurtz, who leads the lab s high efficiency solar research is whether solar concentrators especially their sensitive optics will prove reliable in the field.
Describing a press conference in Paris by Todd D. Stern, the State Department Special Envoy for Climate Change the May 27 2009 New York Times Dot Earth blog reported:
The United States is proposing to make a seismic change in U.S. policy he said. The president is proposing to do that and Congress as well is in the middle of working on this.
We’re probably the only country that s talking about actual hard mandatory policy all the way out not just to 2020 but 2025 30 40 50 not simply goals Mr. Stern said.
We’ve got a huge problem we re facing he said. But added that the world has to be realistic as well avoiding overly ambitious agreements that, while flashy can t be carried out. My watchword throughout all of the time I’ve been in office is science and pragmatism Mr. Stern said. We need to have an agreement that is consistent with the science but that is also pragmatic so you can actually get it done.
To meet the presidential goals utilities the U.S. and the world needs fields of modular solar power collection systems that are light efficient and cost effective to install and that have lower maintenance concerns than current systems and greater robustness in harsh environments such as blowing sand. Solar thermal concentrators combined with thin-film photovoltaics could well be the commanding technology for such solar power applications.
Solution
The solution to the problem stated above is a new generation of 3D solar concentrators that lends itself to utility scale applications. The proposed Solar Thermal Concentrator STC dish is innovative, going beyond the 1984 technology of the Sandia SES project and overcoming its limitations. A large electric utility system made up of mass-produced 50kW STC modules with an advanced Stirling engine and generator should be able to generate utility grade electric power at the $0.85 per kWh cost quoted for natural gas fired systems but with less maintenance and no ongoing fuel costs. The addition of transparent thin-film PV sheets to increase the power generated holds promise of providing an even further cost advantages. The performance improvements that modular electric generation by solar thermal concentrators with Stirling engines and transparent thin-film PV sheets provide will make this new technology a viable and preferred option for electric utilities. A search of over 30,000 patents has shown that the technology described below represents innovations in dish design and reflective coatings.
The Solar Thermal Concentrator
The principal problem with current solar concentrator dishes is their use of glass mirrors. The new technology to replace curved glass mirrors is a faceted panel of flat plate reflective mirror elements. The proprietary connectors joining these identical metallic elements together are adjustable so that the reflection from each element falls within the target area of a Stirling engine. Typically that target area is eighteen inches across and the individual elements are ten inches square, an optimal size for maintaining full concentration of the sunlight on the target while allowing for some inaccuracy or deflection of the elements. These faceted panels have the advantage that they are more robust lighter easier to construct and transport, and lower in cost compared to fragile heavy expensive conventional curved glass mirror panels.
Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP)
Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 01 Mar, 2010
3:Thanks for pointing to this paper! The
complete white paper is available at Sigma
Xi's Energy Web site:
http://energy.sigmaxi.org/?p=1095
Elsa replied to: Dr.A.Jagadeesh
post - 02 Mar, 2010
post - 02 Mar, 2010
4: This is a nice step taken by google .
Posted by: ankur - 28 Feb, 2010
5: Indian companies should learn something from
Google and follow the path to achieve success
in corporate world.
Posted by: kamna - 28 Feb, 2010
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