New solar technology tests the waters with promises of cheaper energy

While I think this is a great advance, I would like to know if the focused solar energy creates thermal pollution impacting the sea life. Additionally, are we likely to see a "Not in My Backyard" backlash from expensive, water-front property owners? Hats off to the innovators.

I read an article titled, "Is Solar just Blowing Sunshine" at http://economicefficiency.blogspot.com/2008/06/is-solar-just-blowing-sunshine.html. This article would be a good topic for discussion as the key point was cost per kw hour.

gormanwvzb

- April 23, 2009 @ 07:04 am PDT

How is it anchored? Not all lake beds are of identical depth and ideal topography.

While the top part including fresnel lens and pv cell might be affordable, the installation costs could be high.

Would a heat-driven Stirling fan be another solution to cool the cell, to eliminate need for water?

Nicolas Lehotzky

- April 24, 2009 @ 12:04 pm PDT

Thermal Pollution.. Man you don't sound too bright. That said, the solar enegry is focused to a smaller cheaper solar cell. It is not creating sunlight..

as we all know the ocean unlike icecap absorbs most of the sun's energy. It is possible that the water would be cooler because 10-20% of the sun's energy would be removed as electricity.

As for the anchored question I am guessing they would put this in an array where they are anchored together. If they used a diagonal/triangle pattern, a large array would be fairly rigid. You would really only need to anchor some key stress areas.

As for eliminating the need for water, they have above ground lens/reflector that use air, water, ammonia and a dozen other techniques to dissipate heat. The genius of this design is the simplicity. The simplicity reduces cost and makes the product more robust.

Michael Mantion

- April 26, 2009 @ 09:04 am PDT

Re: Thermal Pollution:

Michael Mantion, you're the one who isn't thinking "brightly". Yes, you're right that the ocean absorbs vast amounts of solar energy, however, it doesn't do it in the first few centimeters of ocean depth!

These devices would be warming the surface layer, which is a different prospect from natural solar absorption.

The ocean tends to be strongly stratified due primarily to temperature and salinity. Many lifeforms rely on the uppermost layers of the oceans for their habitats, that's where there's the most direct sunlight and nutrients. So, naturally, and change in the temperature environment of these upper layers (i.e., thermal pollution) could have a significant impact on sea life, particularly coastal sea life -- which is where these are likely to be installed.

jbenjam

- May 29, 2009 @ 09:05 am PDT