New CSP technology

The most efficient way to utilize the most energy coming from the sun is to be able to use the light it produces as well as the heat. Previously, energy companies either capture only one or the other. They capture the light in the form of solar panels and turn it into electricity...

...or they only capture the heat using some form of CSP technology.





Think of solar energy this way: On a sunny day, light is what you see, heat is what you feel. The two aforementioned ways of capturing solar energy, photovoltaic/CSP, only utilize one or the other. As you have probablly guessed by now, the way to produce the most power from the sun is to utilize both of these and that's exactly what one company is now doing. Cogenra Solar has designed a type of solar technology which essentially uses the solar trough design, but concentrates the light onto photovoltaic cells as seen below.

As is explained, this technology can not only provide a buildings electricity needs, but can provide them with the heat as well, heat this is wasted in traditional photovoltaic systems. Since this can make so much power so efficiently, this solar technology will help bring the price of the KW/h down, bringing solar energy one more step closer to being competitive with conventional energy sources.