A new take on home solar

[unixronin]

Here's a new take on solar power for the home.  Kennewick, Washington based Infinia (Flash required) plans to release a solar-power solution using a Stirling-cycle engine and a dish that looks to be about C-band size.  The initial unit will have a capacity in the 3kW range, and is expected to be about 24% efficient, double the officiency of a photovoltaic system.  The collector dishes are sun-tracking, and can be placed together in close-packed dish farms.

Comments

[novel-tharkun.livejournal.com]

Haven't reviewed any of the involved factors. But is 1% a reasonable choice of efficiency for a local area to supply such a large state? I seem to remember turbines being about 50% efficient, less maintenance. Add to that storage costs and efficiency thereof (since the peak tidal forces will not nicely coincide with peak usage).

Admittedly, it would seem that there should be gain. But it would be a massive undertaking, requiring a lot of careful design, to build an incredibly complicated system.

I'd love to try modeling it sometime, and might.