Fuel from the sky

Every hour, the sun transmits enough energy here to satisfy the energy requirements for the entire planet for an entire year.

So why are we using anything else?
Solar power technology isn’t quite there yet, but recent developments are providing a glimmer of hope.

Earlier this month, SkyFuel unveiled their new 375-foot SkyTrough, billed as the highest-performance, lowest-cost, utility-scale generator in the world.

That’s a lot of hyphens, and hyphens are impressive.But what does that mean?Is solar power ready to step into the forefront of commercially-viable electricity generation?

Not yet. The solar power industry is working on overcoming the inherent drawbacks to solar power. To start with, solar power requires an enormous amount of land to move behind being a secondary or tertiary contributor, even for residential use. Plus, it must generate surplus energy for night or during cloudy periods, which then must be stored cheaply and efficiently.

Solar technology has moved way beyond simple photovoltaic cells, the traditional ‘solar panels’ most think of when asked about solar energy.SkyTrough is the next generation of parabolic trough generators, which use a glass ‘film’ on aluminum rather than curved glass. This increases both the reliability and durability while cutting down on cost and weight. In fact, all the parts fit on a single flat-bed truck.

It’s really a go-anywhere generator.Well, anywhere sunny.