SkyFuel’s SkyTrough solar concentrator is the most efficient of all

Efficiency issues are one of the reasons the world shies away from the use of solar energy today. With a solar concentrator like this though, efficiency is hardly a problem to worry about. The SkyTrough solar concentrator by SkyFuel, a U.S. based company, drinks up as much solar juice as possible, and is the most efficient solar concentrator around. The concentrator flaunts a thermal efficiency of 350˚C (662 ˚F), 73% more than the concentrators we have around today. The SkyTrough’s performance was closely monitored, just to make sure the claim was true, at the Optical Efficiency Test Loop in Golden, Colorado, and fulfilled all its efficiency expectations. The concentrator uses a patented reflector film jointly developed by SkyFuel and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). A parabolic trough solar concentrator, this one makes steam for electricity generation using solar energy with a thermal-to-electricity loss of only 27%

We just hope this breakthrough in technology pushes forward the use of renewable energy today.


[Inhabitat]