Thursday, January 03, 2008

Solar Technology

I just read about a remarkable development in solar energy technology. At least I think it is remarkable. A unit of United Technologies called Hamilton Sundstrand has developed a solar power plant that will use molten salt to store the energy and generate electricity when the sun isn't shining. They will be trying to commercialize this technology with US Renewables which is a private equity fund. Read the press release as I couldn't find a news article long enough to provide good detail.

The success of this technology will make or break renewable energy in my opinion. If the intermittent nature of the supply is removed from the equation then it can compete with current sources like coal. I'm not sure about the cost or other safety issues but it sounds exciting from what I have found.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is the technology for future

Simply Authentic said...

this comment is completely off topic but i found your blog a week or so ago and have been intrigued, as you read a lot i was wondering if you have ever read the book Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood by Sandra Steingraber. It's topics are completely relevant to your blog and it's a book that I feel every individual should read at some point. Hope you have a good week....

Toxic World Blog said...

I have not read that book. I currently have three books on the go but I will add it to my future reading list. Thanks for the tip.

anti-t-shirt-sentiment said...

Have you heard of this? Sterling engine solar More efficient than PV in sunny places and may be used in conjunction with fuel cells or other storage that is close to infrastructure friendly. Not sure if there are any manufacturing issues.

Toxic World Blog said...

I have read about a Sterling engine being put into an electric car to boost mileage and efficiency. It is a remarkable piece of technology. I think people are working on using the engine in different applications and improving efficiencies. Time will tell.

DJDan said...

I really want to get solor panels