Surely this beats wind power !!!

[Cyberman]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6616651.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7501476.stm



Why spend billions cluttering our coastal areas and land with windmills ??!!!!

[TimberWolf]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6616651.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7501476.stm



Why spend billions cluttering our coastal areas and land with windmills ??!!!!

The first one is better than photovoltaics, but the power it could generate will still be proportional to to area of land used by the mirrors (like windmills), and that will be less than the ~1000W per m^2 available in sunlight. A lot, lot less in practise.

The second is also better than photovoltaics (almost everything is), but probably not as good as a sheet of black paper sat behind some glass.