Engineers at Oregon State University (OSU) and the University of Florida have developed a new thermochemical device for storing and releasing energy from the sun.
In contrast to energy harvested with photovoltaic cells, solar thermal energy is generally developed as a large power plant, where acres of mirrors precisely reflect sunlight onto a solar receiver. This energy is then used to heat a liquid and drive a turbine that produces electricity. However, the same storage and intermittency problems associated with traditional solar remain.
