Capstone Turbine Corp., a manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, has demonstrated a product converting sunlight to electricity with a solar receiver driving a microturbine. The technology is being jointly developed with HelioFocus.
The demonstration was conducted with a Capstone C65 microturbine by HelioFocus and Capstone on a fixed optical tower using heliostats at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Ness Ziona, Israel, HelioFocus Ltd. engages in the development of modular concentrated solar power systems.
The traditional Capstone microturbine engine uses gaseous or liquid fuels to heat combustion air. The HelioFocus Solar Concentrator focuses enough sunlight energy to provide heat to drive the microturbine.
This configuration offers higher solar conversion efficiencies over traditional solar photovoltaic systems, according to the companies. In addition, the increased power density of this system is expected to reduce the amount of land required by a traditional solar photovoltaic system.
SOURCE: Capstone Turbine Corp.
