MIT building low-cost solar concentrator

subscribe

A team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology students is building a prototype power concentrator with a goal of revolutionizing the solar energy field.

Led by MIT mechanical engineering graduate student Spencer Ahrens, the team is assembling a 12-foot-square mirrored dish capable of concentrating sunlight by a factor of 1,000. But it's being built from simple, inexpensive industrial materials selected for price, durability and ease of assembly rather than for optimum performance.

Ahrens said the goal is to make a dish that, in mass production, can be competitive in cost with other energy sources and produce heat for space heating and electric power at the same time.

"The technical challenge here is to make it simple," Ahrens said. "We're using all commodity materials that are all in high production."

Ahrens said the dish, in the Sun Belt, could make about 10,000 peak watts of heat and 3,500 peak watts of electricity.

"It's designed for long life - we hope they will last more than 30 years with good maintenance - and for indigenous manufacturing in the developing world with minimal tooling," he said.

Related News

electricity-prices-in-france-turn-negative

Electricity Prices in France Turn Negative

FRANCE - France has recently experienced an unusual and unprecedented situation in its electricity market: negative electricity prices. This development, driven by a significant influx of renewable energy sources, highlights the evolving dynamics of energy markets as countries increasingly rely on clean energy technologies. The phenomenon of negative pricing reflects both the opportunities and challenges associated with the integration of renewable energy into national grids.

Negative electricity prices occur when the supply of electricity exceeds demand to such an extent that producers are willing to pay consumers to take the excess energy off their hands. This situation typically arises during…

READ MORE
wind turbines

Wind power making gains as competitive source of electricity

READ MORE

nanotubes

A new material made from carbon nanotubes can generate electricity by scavenging energy from its environment

READ MORE

grounding and bonding nec 250

Grounding and Bonding and The NEC - Section 250

READ MORE

Bruce nuclear reactor taken offline as $2.1B project 'officially' begins

READ MORE