PV Gap

Maria Said:

can i build solar power only?

We Answered:

It depends on how much power you need. It's of course fully possible to power a home with only solar power. Generally people prefer solar power over wind power simply because solar power is more reliable. (This obviously depends on where you live).

The easiest way for you to find out how much you need is to call someone who is selling solar panels and tell them your monthly power consumption and they will tell you how many cells you will need to fully power your home. You obviously don't have to purchase panels from them..but information should always be free.

Hazel Said:

How to build a solar power tower?

We Answered:

A solar power tower uses many heliostats (mirrors on movable tracts) to concentrate solar energy to one location where it typically is used to heat water or an intermediate fluid to eventually run a steam turbine. This is thought to be a promising way for a solar thermal application to produce electricity. Aside from the many heliostats you will need conventional steam power equipment.1

A less equipment intensive alternative that can be scaled down would be to use only one hyperbolic mirror and one tracking mechanism that then heats up a stirling engine that runs a generator.2

Another alternative is the parabolic trough collector which if oriented properly doesn't require a tracking system or only a tracking system in one direction. 3

One newer innovation, among many, that are in the works is the suncone. 4

Sounds like a great project. How much power do you need to produce? With an absorbtion system you can also AC with solar thermal.

Samantha Said:

Why doesn't Israel use the Very Hot Southern Negev desert to build electrical solar power plants?

We Answered:

It does !!??!!

The Negev
The Negev Desert and the surrounding area, including the Arava Valley, are the sunniest parts of Israel and little of this land is arable, which is why it has become the center of the Israeli solar industry. David Faiman, a world expert on solar energy, thinks the energy needs of Israel's future could be met by building solar energy plants in the Negev. As director of Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center, he operates one of the largest solar dishes in the world.

A 250 MW solar park in Ashalim, an area in the northern Negev, was in the planning stages for over five years, but is not expected to produce power before 2013.In 2008 construction began on three solar power plants near the city; two thermal and one photovoltaic.

In the Rotem Industrial Complex outside of Dimona, Israel, more than 1,600 solar mirrors focus the sun's rays on a tower to heat a water boiler to create steam. BrightSource Industries (Israel), Ltd., uses the solar array to test new technology for the three new solar plants to be built in California for Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Southern Calfornia Edison.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power…

Cynthia Said:

How to build your own solar power rc car?

We Answered:

May I suggest that, for your first project, you purchase a kit? Here's a link; a typical kit is $18:

http://www.siliconsolar.com/visual-direc…

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Jacob Said:

should the United States build a solar power satellite up in space?

We Answered:

It is so much cheaper to just build the the panels on the ground. They could build several for the price of getting one set of panels in to space and transport them to the ground.

The cost of getting items in to space is $500 a kilogram.

A one kilogram panel can produce 4.4 watts. It sells for less than one 5th of the cost of getting it in to space.