A mechanical thermo-voltaic solar power system (MeTSoPoS) that uses a
mechanical generator, instead of the photovoltaic panel commonly in use
today, is disclosed. The system is comprised of three major subsystems:
(1) a light collector array, (2) a mechanical thermo-voltaic generator,
and (3) a storage and retrieval system. At the center of the system is
the light collection array comprised of solar collector elements. These
collector elements are connected to optical conduits (fiber optic cables)
that carry the light energy to a mechanical generator. An automatic
aiming system is used to align the collector elements directly at a light
source for maximum light output. Each light collector element is
comprised of a set of lenses that focus a larger area of light down to a
point small enough to inject into an optical conduit. The optical conduit
is then used to carry the light from each collector element to the
generator. The system can use either a steam turbine or a Stirling engine
type of mechanical generator, which is connected to a standard AC
generator for generating electrical power. The heating chamber involves
an outer shell where the optical conduits attach and allows the light to
shine through to the heating area of either the boiler of a steam turbine
or the hot node of a Stirling engine. Additionally, a small hole is
provided in the bottom of the heating chamber where a gas burner is
mounted to provide an auxiliary means of providing heat to the system.
The burner can be fueled by natural gas or from stored hydrogen from the
system. Electricity from the system that is not used immediately is
redirected to a storage unit, such as a bank of batteries. In the system,
electricity can be taken directly form the generator or can be used to
charge the batteries and taken from them when needed. The overall system
has a means of monitoring the amount of energy being generated and if
that is less than is being used for auto aiming and other nonessential
functions, it will shut down those functions and switch into energy
retrieval mode.