Concentrating solar power with glasshouses
AssigneeGlassPoint Solar, Inc.
InventorPeter Emery von Behrens
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A protective transparent enclosure, such as a greenhouse, encloses a concentrated solar power system having line-focus solar energy concentrators. The line-focus solar energy concentrators have a reflective front layer, a core layer, and a rear layer. The core and the rear layers, when bonded with the reflective front layer, enable the line-focus solar energy concentrator, in some embodiments, to retain a particular form without additional strengthening elements. In some embodiments, the core layer and/or the rear layer are formed by removing material from a single piece of material.
Claims26
A solar energy collection system, comprising:
- a concentrator having a first portion and a second portion, the first portion including a first section and a second section positioned symmetrically relative to each other, the second portion including a unilateral extension extending away from one of the first and second sections, the concentrator being formed from:
- a front layer having outer and inner surfaces, the front layer being reflective to incident solar radiation;
- a honeycomb core layer;
- and
- a rear layer having outer and inner surfaces;
- wherein at least a portion of the honeycomb core layer is situated between the inner surfaces of the front and the rear layers and is bonded directly to the inner surface of the front layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.