Our friends over at the Cal Academy of Sciences have started a new informal science venture: The Bay Area Science Forum. In collaboration with UC Berkeley and Stanford, BASF is an interactive dialogue to facilitate more informed decisions….much like a science cafe without the booze.

After an open vote, Water resources was chosen as a topic for this 3 month, 3 event discussion. The first event is March 13 at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. I will definitely be attending, I encourage everyone else to come out as well.

For some good background, check out the video from DtaS’s event on California Water Management.

Solar Thermal Through
Thermal troughs use mirrors to concentrate the sun’s heat to cook tubes of oil up to 400 C. That oil is then passed through water, heating it to steam which drives a turbine.

Presently, a couple “plants” supply power. These plants exist out in the desert and typically provide 100-300 megawatts of power (30K-120K homes).

Thin Film Solar
It’s the same concept as standard PV solar, but the material uses polymer substrates to create a flexible material. The resultant material is much faster to install while providing similar energy output as PV. In addition, much less silicon is used, possibly lowering the cost down the road.

The technology is still in a demonstration phase (not much manufacturing capacity), but shows a good deal of promise.

Here is a video on a thin film startup in the Bay Area (c/o KQED QUEST)

Solar Paint
Still in development, the idea is a special set of ingredients (aluminized mylar and indium tin oxide) are mixed in with paint. When sunlight hits the paint, electrons are knocked loose straight into wires that connect directly to your home’s power. The potential is monumental…cheap, easy to apply, little to no installation.

These are just a few examples….an extraordinary amount of money is being poured into solar research in the last few years. We do have a lot to look forward to when it comes to solar, the question seems to be transitioning from research into strategy for implementation…a huge issue for any new energy source.

PBS NOVA ran a program recently called “Saved by the Sun”, detailing solar technologies and commentary on whether its time to switch over to solar nationally.

In one of their interactive pieces, they describe the inner workings of a Solar PV cell, the kind that most people have installed on their roofs (as will be described in our upcoming cafe). Flash is required to view the below explanation.

You can also see a larger version here.

In upcoming days, I will delve into the varied world of new solar technologies, from thin-film to solar thermal.