A Fairbanks man has invented a solar focusing lens technology that promises more efficient, lower cost energy collection. Inventor John Pender says the idea is to use tiny prisms to direct and concentrate the sun. Pender patented the prism lens three years ago, and his company Goldstream Solar recently received a federal small business innovation research grant to make prototypes of the solar concentration lenses. Pender says the liquid crystal prisms enable a fixed panel to achieve what’s only been possible in the past with large expensive lenses and mechanized solar tracking systems.
Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
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