Harnessing the Sun’s Rays without Silicon Solar Panels

Scientists and almost anybody out there are on a mad rush to find the next form of alternative energy source that would provide us with the energy (electricity) we need to power our lives. With the price of oil still on the rise with no signs of stopping even with the world asking (well, more of demanding the Oil giants) to produce more oil to satisfy the world’s fuel needs (production has since increased but the price continues to rise). Oil has become an economic bargaining chip and the search for better sources that does not harm the environment is on the priority of most scientific communities.
The field of solar power generation is a well established one but the high costs of silicon for solar panels and other hardware needed to produce electricity directly from the sun keeps it away from the realm of practicality. The alternative was to come up with super efficient mirrors that bounces the sun’s rays onto a concentrated point which has a structure containing some liquid (can be water, oil or some other easily vaporized liquid) that in turn is used to turn turbines to produce electricity. This may be the cheapest alternative for other technologies are still so expensive that not many can afford the infrastructure and equipment needed to benefit from their use. Wind farms cost millions of dollars, Hybrid batteries are still quite in their infancy and so are solar panels so scientists are still on the lookout for other more realistic technologies that may solve the energy crisis we are experiencing today and possibly for sometime in the future to come.

Posted by Nick at 11:04 am under General, Home & Garden