Capstone Turbine Corp., a manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, has demonstrated a product converting sunlight to electricity with a solar receiver driving a microturbine. The technology is being jointly developed with HelioFocus.

The demonstration was conducted with a Capstone C65 microturbine by HelioFocus and Capstone on a fixed optical tower using heliostats at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Ness Ziona, Israel, HelioFocus Ltd. engages in the development of modular concentrated solar power systems.

The traditional Capstone microturbine engine uses gaseous or liquid fuels to heat combustion air. The HelioFocus Solar Concentrator focuses enough sunlight energy to provide heat to drive the microturbine.

This configuration offers higher solar conversion efficiencies over traditional solar photovoltaic systems, according to the companies. In addition, the increased power density of this system is expected to reduce the amount of land required by a traditional solar photovoltaic system.

The traditional Capstone microturbine engine uses gaseous or liquid fuels to heat combustion air. The HelioFocus Solar Concentrator focuses enough sunlight energy to provide heat to drive the microturbine. This renewable solution offers higher solar conversion efficiencies over traditional solar photovoltaic systems. In addition the increased power density of this system should reduce the amount of land required by a traditional solar photovoltaic system.

"The concept scales to all Capstone microturbine products, from the C30 through the C1000 Series, generating 30kW to 5MW of electricity," said Mark Gilbreth, Capstone Executive Vice President and CTO. "The commercial Concentrated Solar Power product should compare favorably in cost to photovoltaic."

"The value proposition driving this joint product development effort between HelioFocus and Capstone is that it gives solar projects the capability to generate energy more efficiently during the day and to continue to provide energy at night," said Darren Jamison, Capstone President and CEO. "Efficiency is extremely important in solar power systems as a means to reduce size and space, and ultimately drive down installation costs," added Jamison.

Benefits: During the day power is provided by the sun generating heat for the turbine. At night the turbines can run on natural gas or other fuels providing an ideal solution for continuous generation of power from a single installed investment, whilst halving the need for fossil fuels.

California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. has filed a lawsuit against government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for their actions taken against property-assessed clean energy finance (PACE) programs in the U.S.

"As the nation struggles through the worst recession in modern times, California is taking action in federal court to stop the regulatory strangulation of the state's grass-roots program that is spreading across the country," said Brown.

The PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program stimulates the economy and promotes energy independence by assisting homeowners and small businesses in securing funding to make their properties more energy efficient. Property owners repay the costs of energy improvements through assessments spread out over a decade or more. Under California law, these costs are classified as tax assessments.

Ignoring California law, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have effectively shut down the program by wrongly characterizing PACE assessments as loans that must be subordinate to their own mortgages. The Federal Housing Finance Agency affirmed Fannie and Freddie's decision on July 6 over the objections of Attorney General Brown and congressional leaders.

Letter to Obama

PACE complaint

UPDATE:- You can take action - Visit the vote solar initiative and make your mark.

The ruling, which also affects nonprofit groups, was disclosed late Friday and was reverberating through the state this week. Commission officials said the suspension is temporary while the agency decides how to deal with its rapidly depleting solar budget, but some public officials said the delay could scuttle plans to install panels.

The CPUC is not addressing the stakeholders expectations in this decision.