| Google Inc has developed a prototype
for a new mirror technology that could cut by half the cost
of building a solar thermal plant, the company's green energy
czar said.
Bill Weihl said that if development and testing go well,
he could see the product being ready in one to three years.
"Things have progressed," Weihl said in an interview. "We
have an internal prototype."
Google has been looking at unusual materials for the mirror's
reflective surface and the substrate on which the mirror is
mounted.
In solar thermal technology, the sun's energy is used to
heat a substance that produces steam to run a turbine. Mirrors
focus the sun's rays on the heated substance.
The Internet search engine company, which has been investing
in companies and doing research of its own to produce affordable
renewable energy, wants to cut the cost of making heliostats
- the fields of mirrors that track the sun.
"There is a decent chance that, in a small number of years,
we could have a 2-x-reduction in cost," he said.
Global companies are increasingly investing in green technology,
as the world grapples with global warming and governments
strive to implement regulations that could limit greenhouse
gas emissions. Google has invested in two solar thermal companies
- eSolar and BrightSource - with which it has discussed the
new mirror technology, Weihl said.
He said the technology was not at a stage where it could
be tested externally, but added that both eSolar and BrightSource
were interested in it. "If it works, it would absolutely be
something they would use," he said.
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