Back in 2009, John O’Donnell, former co-founder of Ausra, gave a presentation at Stanford University about solar thermal energy. In the video, he makes it extremely clear why thermal solar energy, NOT photovoltaics, is where a viable clean energy solution lies. Much of what he says relates directly to our project so I encourage you to watch and further familiarize yourself with the thermal solar cycle.
At the 47:50 mark of the video, Mr. O’Donnell concludes his presenatation and opens the floor for questions. The very first questions asks what is preventing solar thermal from being scaled down to “rooftop” applications. If you do not listen to any other part of the video, make sure to at least check that segment out. It’s our new technology that finally makes the solar thermal cycle viable for “rooftop” applications.
– Matt