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Monday, April 7, 2008 12:00 AM

Ask Pablo

Could the U.S. meet its energy needs with solar panels alone?
By Pablo Päster

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  • Monday, April 7, 2008 01:20 PM

    Don't forget concentrator systems

    You don't need to use all that much silicon in a photovoltaic system. For example a Swedish company, Arontis, is working on a system that uses parabolic mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto a much smaller, cheaper photovoltaic array. Of course this means that the array has to be cooled, but this is done with a simple water-cooling system, and useful heat can also be extracted from the cooling water. Win-win.

    I'm not advocating putting all our eggs in the photovoltaic basket, but the costs CAN be reduced with simple, clever solutions.

    —samsilver Read samsilver's other letters

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