Since we’ve adopted a clean energy investing focus here at the Micro Cap Press, we thought it would be fitting to keep you abreast of the latest developments in the arena… even if not associated with a particular investment (i.e. a micro cap stock). If the technology is viable, a publicly-traded player will surface eventually. Anyway, the latest technological advance in harnessing solar power is…..plastics that absorb the sun’s infrared energy.

You may recall we specified the two most common forms of solar energy back on July 10th… photovoltaic cells, and solar thermal power. Both of those were based on visible sunlight, either by converting it directly into electricity using a silicon panel, or using sunlight’s heat to spin a steam-powered turbine. Both technologies work, and are in use already.

The idea of plastics that absorb and use infrared energy, however, is something new altogether. Both photovoltaic and solar thermal power generation require the sun not be obstructed by clouds…which is entirely out of our control. Infrared rays can make their way through cloud cover, meaning the energy can basically be received from sun-rise to sun-down no matter what the weather is like.

The technology is quite new, and as such we know little about it. Here’s what we do know though…

• It’s believed this technology could be five times more effective than current solar power collection
• The plastic is easy to work with, and can simply be applied like paint
• The technology could allow up to 30% of the sun’s total power to be collected, as compared to just 6% with the current means of harnessing it

We’d like to thank a reader for bringing the idea to our attention. However (and more importantly) we’d like to solicit your help in adding to the discussion. Are there publicly-traded companies in the field? Has anybody monetized the technology yet? Is there something we’re missing? You can add any comments using the form below.

Regardless, we suspect we’ll be revisiting the technology’s advancement from time to time.

By the way, here’s a stunning fact that came with the story….the amount of the sun’s total energy that actually hits the earth is 10,000 times greater than the amount of energy mankind uses. Seems like such a waste.

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