Go Green
Solar Island Becomes an Oasis
The pursuit of solar energy as a sustainable resource is many decades old already, and the current shift toward green technology research fueled by changes in the national economy has greatly increased the interest in this field, not only in the individual consumer marketplace but in the application of industrial solar plant technology.
Solar Island Becomes an Oasis
The pursuit of solar energy as a sustainable resource is many decades old already, and the current shift toward green technology research fueled by changes in the national economy has greatly increased the interest in this field, not only in the individual consumer marketplace but in the application of industrial solar plant technology.
Harnessing the sun’s energy is understood by most people to mean capturing sun rays and storing them in a way that can be accessed by a delivery system. The first image that comes to mind is the solar panel, which has been available and on the market for many years, and which can be seen in nearly every area of the United States.
Yet there are other ways to store the sun’s energy. Solar cells have been in the research and development stage for quite awhile, and they can be found in many forms already being used today. Solar cells are used to power everything from highway signs and light poles to cell phones and computers, and the potential for individual applications is growing daily.
On a much larger scale, the development of solar energy is being pursued by private sector industries and governmental entities alike. One current project is a giant solar thermal power plant being scrutinized by the United Arab Emirates. The prototype of this power plant, which is essentially a floating island of solar cells, was developed by the Swiss firm CSEM to be deployed in large bodies of water.
The initial testing of the project for the United Arab Emirates was to be performed in the deserts of that region before moving the plant offshore. Results from this study are still pending, but the concept itself has generated interest in other possible applications.
The United States has a great capacity for this type of approach to industrial solar energy application. The vast areas of desert in the west and southwest portions of the country, as well as the thousands of miles of coastland available that could sustain deployment of such large solar plants, open the door to a variety of possible avenues of development in sustainable solar thermal energy.
The horizon is as vast a Saharan panorama for new ways to harness the sun.
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