Harnessing the power of sunlight can mean more than just laying solar panels on rooftops or putting them on motorized swivels to track the sun across the sky. MIT researchers have built solar panel towers and cubes capable of generating as much as 20 times more power compared with fixed, flat panels with the same base area.

The 3D solar panel structures have a higher price tag compared to ordinary flat panel installations, but can create higher energy output for a given size physical footprint. The solar towers also collect much more sunlight during the mornings, evenings and winters all days of the year regardless of clouds or shadows — possibly making solar power a much more reliable source of energy for the power grid.

"I think this concept could become an important part of the future of photovoltaics," said Jeffrey Grossman, a professor of power engineering at MIT.

The MIT team made their tallest tower in an accordion shape that "you could ship flat, and then could unfold at the site," Grossman said. He added that such portable solar towers might end up acting as charging stations for electric cars.


Read more at http://www.livescience.com/19322-solar-power-towers.html