Solar: The Energy Solution

Solar power plants are not only renewable with their near limitless fuel supply of the Sun, they also help reduce dependence on imported fuels and improve the diversity of the fuel supply. In addition, solar energy has a unique place in fulfilling power utilities' RPS requirements. The U.S. Southwest potentially offers the best solar development opportunities in the world; Southern California deserts alone could support the development of thousands of megawatts of solar power. Additionally, solar power plants produce low-cost electricity during hot, sunny days at exactly the time when utilities and large customers demand the most energy.

As a wholly owned subsidiary of Cool Earth Solar, Radiant Energy builds, owns, and operates utility-scale solar power plants based on Cool Earth's concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology. This technology dramatically reduces the cost and time to develop solar power plants capable of generating massive amounts of clean energy at prices competitive with fossil fuels.

Cool Earth is "reshaping solar energy" in a very literal way: Most of today's solar energy systems take the form of flat panels or boxes-with-lenses and require large amounts of heavy, expensive materials. Cool Earth's patented solar concentrators are balloon shaped and primarily made of inexpensive and free materials. Each 8-foot-diameter concentrator is made of plastic film—the same plastic used to package snack foods—with a transparent upper hemisphere and a reflective lower hemisphere. When inflated with air, the concentrator naturally forms a shape that concentrates sunlight onto a PV cell placed at the focus point. A single cell in a Cool Earth concentrator generates about 300 to 400 times the electricity of a cell without a concentrator.