 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Scheme To Combat Global Warming Could Diminish Solar Power
Washington DC (SPX) Apr 16, 2009 A widely discussed "atmospheric engineering" scheme intended to combat global warming could have unanticipated consequences in reducing the effectiveness of certain kinds of solar power around the Earth, a new study has concluded. It is appears in the current issue of ACS' Environmental Science and Technology, a semi-monthly journal. In the study, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's Daniel M. Murphy examines a proposal to minimize climate change by enhancing the stratospheric aerosol layer, which reduces sunlight to Earth by scattering it to outer space. But this approach has considerable implications on the ability to concentrate solar power, Murphy says. For example, the increased aerosols resulting from the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines reduced global sunlight by less than three percent but decreased output from some solar generating plants by about 20 percent. Murphy's study found that aerosols reduce direct sunlight - the kind that casts shadows - much more than total sunlight. Each one percent reduction in the Earth's sunlight due to aerosols will cause a four to 10 percent loss in output from concentrating solar power applications. He notes, however, that flat solar hot water and photovoltaic panels - which utilize both direct and diffuse (scattered) sunlight - will have smaller performance losses than concentrating solar collectors. "One consequence of deliberate enhancement of the stratospheric aerosol layer would be a significant reduction in the efficiency of solar power generation systems," Murphy concludes. "Any cooling of the Earth that relies on light scattering, including tropospheric aerosol scattering and increased cloudiness, by particles will also result in reductions in direct sunlight that are several times the reductions in total sunlight." Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links the missing link All About Solar Energy at SolarDaily.com
Symyx Awarded Grant From Department Of Energy For Solar Thermal Energy Research
Sunnyvale CA (SPX) Apr 16, 2009Symyx Technologies, has announced it has been awarded a grant by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct research and development of advanced heat transfer fluids for solar thermal power generation. Symyx's research will focus on developing new, breakthrough materials for lowering the cost of electricity and providing cleaner energy sources. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook