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Related: About this forumNew ‘Solar Cloth’ Allows Solar Cells To Be Stretched Across Parking Lots, Stadiums
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/11/14/3592449/solar-cloth-parking-lots/A British start-up has developed a way for parking lots and structures with roofs that cant take much weight to harness the power of the sun.
The Cambridge, England-based Solar Cloth Company is beginning to run trials of its solar cloth, which uses lightweight photovoltaic fabric that can be stretched across parking lots or on buildings that cant hold heavy loads, such as sports stadiums with lightweight, retractable roofs. Perry Carroll, Solar Cloth Companys founder, told BusinessGreen that the company is working to close deals to install solar cloth on 27,000 parking lots.
We have built a growing sales pipeline worth £4.2m [about $6.57 million] for 2015, including park and ride projects, airport parking operators and retail park owners, he said.
According to Solar Cloth Company, there are about 320 square miles of roof space and 135 square miles of parking space in the U.K. that could be covered by solar cloth, and if all of these spaces were covered, the solar power produced would be enough to power the U.K.s grid three times.
The key to solar cloths adaptability is its lightweight nature. An approximately ten square-meter piece of the cloth weighs about 7.3 pounds, far less than a traditional, silicone-based solar panels weight of about 35 to 48 pounds. The material is also flexible, which allows it to be installed on most roofs, regardless of their shape.
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New ‘Solar Cloth’ Allows Solar Cells To Be Stretched Across Parking Lots, Stadiums (Original Post)
Bill USA
Nov 2014
OP
arcane1
(38,613 posts)1. Neat!
WillyT
(72,631 posts)2. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!
mountain grammy
(26,607 posts)3. K & R and thanks for the info!
OKIsItJustMe
(19,937 posts)4. Much more information here
http://www.thesolarclothcompany.com/
Theyre looking for crowd funding here:
http://www.crowdcube.com/thesolarclothcompany
Theyre looking for crowd funding here:
http://www.crowdcube.com/thesolarclothcompany
FailureToCommunicate
(14,012 posts)5. Solar keeps getting better. The Sun is smiling...
bearssoapbox
(1,408 posts)6. Might work on mobile homes, campers
maybe even tents.
All of the innovation and progress being made in clean energy around the world and many of the reTHUGliCONS continue to make it as hard as possible to implement the advantages here in the U.S.
They'll continue to obstruct in the name of big oil and coal.
Response to Bill USA (Original post)
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