Eco Factor: Portable solar generator delivers cheap, efficient, green electricity.
Researchers at the GreenField Solar Corp. have developed a breathtaking solar power generator that can provide 1500 watts of solar electricity. Unlike traditional flat solar panels, this generator uses a hi-tech solar concentrator that can enhance sunlight 900 times and focus it precisely on a solar chip stack measuring just 10 inches.
The generator can be installed by two people in half a day without making use of a crane or other tools. The concentrator stands 18 feet high with wings spanning 13 feet. This concentrator uses 28 mirrored aluminum panels that are arranged in a wing shape to form a parabolic curve. This curve bends light upwards and inwards as they reflect it. The output from this concentrator is a light beam magnified 900 times that is precisely focused onto a special stack of solar cells.
This stack is actually a chip containing 40 layers of solar cells that have been engineered to sit on their edges allowing light to penetrate the silicon wafer edge so that all cells can get an equal share of sunlight. The GreenField solar concentrator contains 200 such chips laid out in two strips each measuring just 10 inches by 1.75 inches, generating about 1500 watts of power.
The cells used in these chips are 20% efficient, which is about 6% more efficient than other conventional solar panels. The company states that mass produced generators cost about $6,000 each; that boils down to $4 per watt.
The Dark Side:
Aluminum-based concentrators would require high maintenance to keep their reflecting surfaces polished, which might just add up to the cost per watt of power produced.
