Solar Energy is well and truly the leader among alternate energy sources and it would be hard to believe that any other renewable energy source would come close to solar power in the near future. While wind energy continues to make gentle progress and wave energy is just starting to make tiny ripples, solar power has taken the world by a storm. But one of the problems with solar energy remains the fact that we are still unable to extract the maximum from the available resources. The lack of panels that truly utilize sun’s light to the fullest and loss of energy during the conversion into conventional power are persistent problems.

Cool Earth Solar has come up with innovative new way to convert solar energy into electricity with their Concentrated Photovoltaic Technology (CPV). The new technology works on the principle that rather than making plain surfaces to harness solar power, a spherical balloon would work much better as its curved surface will be in contact with the sun at every point in the day to some extent. A single cell in one of Cool Earth’s concentrators generates about 300 to 400 times the electricity of a cell without a concentrator. The inflated structure is naturally strong and aerodynamically stable, able to withstand winds of 125 miles per hour.

Cool Earth claims that one solar power plant, using Cool Earth’s technology; covering 150 square miles would generate enough power to meet all the electrical needs of the United States through 2030. For now though Cool Earth is happy to try the theory out on a smaller prototype that might lead to more substantial gains in the future. While solar energy is already making impact in our lives, technology such as this will help solar energy reach out to far more homes across the world. The theory sounds fine, let us see where the practical attempts lead us to.

Via: Gizmag