Photo credit:
sateda, SXC
Okay, Smartie, and you thought that solar energy was no good at night when the sun's not actually shining. Yeah, we didn't either. But savvy scientists are showing us wrong. Want to know how? Simple—it's salt.
Salts, or a combination of sodium and potassium nitrate (otherwise used as fertilizers, ick), can store a lot of heat, and about 93 percent of that energy is recapturable. They melt only at super high temperatures and don't turn to vapor until they get a lot hotter than the melting point. The stored heat energy contained in these molten salts can be transferred to water by use of a heat exchanger; the hot water turns to steam which can then be made to turn turbines, which then creates—ta da!—electricity. Voila, a solar-thermal power plant.
The concept has already tested well at Andale, the world's first solar-thermal power plant in sunny Spain, and in experimental use in the deserts of California. Plans are underway to build a second Andale and a solar-thermal plant is planned in the U.S. for the desert area south of Phoenix, but installation of the thermal holding tanks and acres of piping necessary to create such power plants isn't cheap. The cost is roughly $50 per kilowatt-hour for installation. After the initial installation, however, the cost to produce solar-thermal electricity is quite low, only 13¢ per kilowatt-hour—which is still about twice that of cheap coal-fired greenhouse gas emitting power plants.
Researchers are continuing to look into additional ways the sun's energy can be stored, so as to try to reduce the initial costs of building a solar-thermal power plant. There's a lot of energy up there in the sky, just waiting to be used.
How to join the Canvolution
Comments (1)Add a Comment
Inappropriate or promotional comments may be removed.
Women in summer would like to become beautiful. Everything can grab other's eyes is their best friends.Products make them beauty and confident is their favourite. Look in the street,you can see many different types of make up to show women's personality.
Welcome to the shop, the following is our products, free shipping.
Soccer Shoes Cheap Soccer Shoes Nike Soccer Shoes Adidas Soccer Shoes Nike Soccer Shoes sale Adidas Soccer Shoes sale UGG UGGs UGG Boot UGG Boots UGG Boots Sale Cheap UGG Boots UGG Boots Cheap Women UGG boots ugg boots cardy ugg cardy boots Nike Air Nike Air Max Nike Air Max Shoes Nike SB Nike Dunk Nike Dunk SB Nike Dunk SB Shoes Nike Shox Nike Shox Shoes Timberland Timberland sale Timberland boots Timberland boots online Timberland on sale New timberland boots Women Bags Women Bags Sale Women Handbags Women Handbags Sale Women New Bags Cheap Bags Cheap Bags On Sale UGG UGG boots UGG boots sale UGG boots short Short ugg Short ugg boots Ugg boots tall New women bags New women bags sale New women bags sale online Louis Vuitton Handbags Gucci bags Nike Nike Shoes Nike Shoes Sale Nike running Nike running shoes Nike trainers Nike trainers shoes Timberland Timberland boots Timberland boots sale Timberland boot Timberland boot sale Timberland boots cheap Men timberlands MBT MBT Shoes MBT Chapa GTX MBT Men Shoes MBT Women Shoes Discount MBT Shoes LV Handbags Gucci Handbags Chanel Handbags Chloe Handbags D&G Handbags Dior Handbags Fendi Handbags Hermes Handbags Jimmy Choo Bags Marc Jacobs Bags Miu Miu Handbags Mulberry Bags Prada Handbags Versace Handbags Yves Saint Laurent Balenciaga Bags Burberry Handbags LV Handbags Gucci Handbags Chanel Handbags Chloe Handbags D&G Handbags Dior Handbags Fendi Handbags Hermes Handbags Jimmy Choo Bags Marc Jacobs Bags Miu Miu Handbags Mulberry Bags Prada Handbags Versace Handbags Yves Saint Laurent Balenciaga Bags Burberry Handbags
Those who want to become most beautiful in the world should try them. Just ones can make you different. Girls who want to grab your boyfriends's heart is necessary to use them.