A solar-powered method for generating electricity at night

Abstract The new technology featured in this study solves the problem of producing solar-powered energy at night at a lower cost than the current technology. The system features a solar collector that traps sunlight between a pair of opposing parabolic mirrors and a Stirling engine powered by solar-heated air to drive an electric generator. It is a mathematical approach that applies the fundamentals of thermodynamics and structural engineering to hardware design. The calculations show that the ratio of the cost of construction to the energy generated is 2539 per megawatt-hour per year. Thus, this design will cost less than the lithium-ion batteries and heated-medium storage tanks currently in use for nighttime solar power generation. The continuing cost reductions of daytime photovoltaic power generators coupled with this new nighttime power-generation system will convert the world's deserts into wealth-generating power houses.