SkyFuel Unveils World’s Lowest Cost Utility-Scale Solar Power System
New silvered-polymer film cuts cost of parabolic troughs by 35%
>>More on concentrating solar power at CleanTechnica
Developed in a research partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the University of 
New Mexico, the SkyFuel’s new design is 375 feet long, twenty feet tall, and features the largest parabolic trough modules ever built. The trough has several critical innovations that improve performance and significantly reduce cost. The most notable of these improvements is the use of a proprietary silvered-polymer film, which is a low-cost, highly reflective and shatterproof alternative to the expensive, heavy and fragile curved-glass mirrors.
In the SkyTrough, the proprietary ReflecTech Mirror Film is laminated to thin aluminum sheets to form light-weight, yet highly accurate mirror panels. This allows for larger and fewer panel segments than in previous trough designs that still use curved glass. The film cuts mirror costs by approximately 50 percent compared to the price of using glass. The film is also easily manufactured at high volume thus eliminating one of the bottlenecks that has slowed the deployment of other solar power systems.
In addition to being less expensive to manufacture, the light weight of the silvered-polymer film
also cuts down significantly on transportation costs. All ready-to-assemble components of the 375-foot long trough will fit onto one flat bed truck, an important advantage with transportation fuel costs on the rise.
The company expects to have an installation of its SkyFuel system in the next year. If all goes well with those 2 - 10 megawatt pilots, the company will scale-up with larger projects.
Image credits: 1&2. Tim Hurst; 3. SkyFuel Inc.
Now that the “Great Depression” has moved from a fantasy to a glaring , ugly, reality, we can only hope for government sponsored plans to employ the starving masses installing these devices. Getting off of oil will free up much needed cash for the American people and I thank you for your effort in that direction with these good products; however, we must now get out and vote. Vote the dirty uber-rich spoiled brat bastards that brought this calamity down on the American people to hell, and out of office! Please get out and vote. Repair America. Stop the rape and pillage of America by the rich of the world! Get out and vote or learn to love anarchy, because that is next! Wake Up America, Last Call!
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Hurray UNM engineering!
A Colorado-based solar company has unveiled what they claim to be the highest performance