PARC Research has developed new methods to magnify the amount of energy the sun can deliver. Promising solar news for the future of solar energy.
The Palo Alto Research Company takes up the baton in the march toward the holy grail of solar systems (efficient, low cost, environmentally neutral). Sun and Mirrors and years of research have given rise to a smaller yet more efficient solar collector.
Xerox is on the solar bandwagon.
Through their subsidiary company, Palo Alto Research Company (PARC), Xerox researchers have fine tuned a method of not only collecting but magnifying solar rays that are then turned into energy.
Expertly making use of mirrors and other optics the team has produced a collection system that is a giant step closer to what consumers are looking for.Sunlight strikes the metal cones, mirrors and optics which concentrate the energy and direct the beam onto a 1mm square chip. Because the chip is composed of layers of germanium and silicon, energy from more parts of the solar spectrum can be collected.
PARC research has managed to hone the solar cell to a mere 1.2 centimetres thick (about half an inch) substantially reducing the size of a solar cell. This translates into much less bulk when the cells are combined into a panel.
By the time the product is ready for market PARC predicts that prices will compare very favorably with fossil fuels.