Concentrated solar power is an old technology
Concentrated solar power (CSP) uses mirrors to focus heat from the Sun to drive a steam turbine and generate electricity. Developing this "medium-duration" storage is a necessary step to
Can mirrors boost solar panel output?
Working with a team in Canada, my group has shown that using mirrors to shine more sun on the panels can significantly crank up their output. The reflectors are placed opposite the solar panels to send more light toward the modules in
New Way to Generate Electricity From Rain Can
New research has found a method that could generate enough power from a single droplet of rain to light up 100 LED bulbs. That''s a big jump forward in efficiency, in the region of several thousand times. [5.9 inches]
Using the sun''s heat to make electricity | MIT Energy
An MIT team has developed a novel system for capturing and storing the sun''s heat so it can be used to generate electricity whenever it''s needed. The new system is simple, durable, and inexpensive. Mirrors
How Solar Cells Work
The solar panels that you see on power stations and satellites are also called photovoltaic (PV) panels, or photovoltaic cells, which as the name implies (photo meaning "light" and voltaic meaning "electricity"), convert
Reflecting on Solar Energy with Mirrors and Their Impact
When it comes to mirrors used in solar energy systems, there are three main types: parabolic mirrors, flat mirrors, and heliostats. Parabolic mirrors are curved to focus sunlight onto a specific point, making them ideal
Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power Basics
CSP technologies use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a receiver. The energy from the concentrated sunlight heats a high temperature fluid in the receiver. This heat - also known as thermal energy - can be used to spin a