APPLICABLE GROUND-BASED SOLAR POWER TECHNOLOGY The Boeing thermal electric configuration for Powersat grew out of work on a ground- based thermal electric power station being pursued by Boeing Engineering and Construction, a division specially dedicated to activities in the energy field. The Sun is reflected by steerable focusing mirrors into a thermal cavity on the tower. This thermal energy powers a heat engine that generates electricity. The solar reflecting mirrors are 23 feet in diameter, and the tower is 95 feet taller than the Washington Monument. The plastic bubbles, designed to withstand 100 mile-an-hour winds, provide environmental protection for the lightweight mirrors. Boeing Engineering and Construction is doing concept work on the mirrors for both the Energy Research and Development Administration and Electric Power Research Institute. The ERDA program eventually could lead to a regional solar power system that could be economically competitive in some regions of the United States. Much of the technology would be applicable to the Powersat concept. An artist's concept of a ground-based thermal electric power station is shown here.
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