Replies

1. 
   frammer52 | Jun 20, 2008 09:03pm | #1

   That is pretty cool.  How old is this? 

1. 
   dovetail97128 | Jun 20, 2008 09:41pm | #2

   Concept of the focused parabolic reflector/collector has been around for ages. Da Vinci drew sketches of one to be used as a weapon.In the early 1900's a lot of work was done on arrays of them both in this country and also in England. Very successful but undermined by cheap oil and electricity.
   http://www.solarenergy.com/info_history.html Find this book and read it, has an amazing amount of history on solar in it.
   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0917352076/ref=cm_cr_dp_orig_subj But this version is brand new I think, I just caught a news brief on it this morning on the internet news. One huge difference is the reflective material being plastic instead of mirrored glass or silvered metal.
   Easy to combine with a computerized sun tracking device these days and as long as the sun shines you are good to go.
   Be interesting to see what they end up retailing for.
   They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.

1. 
   frammer52 | Jun 20, 2008 11:40pm | #3

   It appears to be made of relatively inexpensive materials, so it should help bring down cost.

   Is it true they produce electicity by steam?  Am I reading this correct?

   My parents had solar hot h2o for years.  I looked at the construction and could not understand the prices charged.  I sometimes wonder if the subsidies the gov. gives for solar has kept the prices artificially high.

   Thanks for the reference to books, I will go to the library and see if I can find.

2. 
   Ken | Jun 21, 2008 12:11am | #4

   Saw a Fortune article the other day that said Google was investing in a company pursuing the same concept. Their difference is that they're using flat mirrors with computer tracking, cheaper than curved mirrors.

   Looks like high prices have us looking for alternatives.

   ++++++++++++++++++

   What goes up must come down unless it gets into a stable orbit.

1. 
   dovetail97128 | Jun 21, 2008 03:48am | #5

   The interesting thing about this to me is that there are plenty of documented solar steam generation systems that lost funding at the end of WW1 when England took control of the middle east and this country discovered it's oil reserves. Here we are 100 years later reinventing the wheel and with the world in turmoil because of what happened 100 years ago.
   The book "A Golden Thread" documents what happened , worth the read. I posted a link to it earlier.
   They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.

2. 
   dockelly | Jun 21, 2008 04:09am | #6

   http://www.nanosolar.com/ Google invested in this, I'm on the email list. Possible investment opportunity down the road.