There's more than one way to make electricity from sun. At WIREC 2008 , there were a handful of companies showing off their different designs for solar concentrators. Concentrators can be used either make generate electricity through heat or concentrate light onto solar cells to maximize their output. Here is a cut-out of Power-Spar, a solar concentrator from Menova Energy in Canada. The actual solar concentrator is much longer--about 40 feet--and the installation would include several of them mounted on racks.
The Power-Spar can be used for several functions. The reflected light from the concentrator can be reflected on solar cells to make electricity. Or the concentrators can make heat for use in buildings. It can also carry daylight to a building through
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