Powering the earth with balloons

2008 November 3
by novogreen

Soon Cool Earth Solar plans to start testing a prototype solar plant built around rows of reflective balloons hung on poles. The solar balloons, which are eight feet in diameter, look something like a tube for sledding or laying around the pool, but each one can generate 1 kilowatt of electricity. It’s a design that combines cheap building materials, notably plastics, with expensive high-efficiency solar cells. Light goes through the side of the balloon facing the sun, is reflected on an aluminum coating on the bottom, and is concentrated onto solar cells in a “receiver.”

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