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Did you know it typically takes about 3.5 acres of land to generate one single megawatt of solar power? That’s a lot of area for such a small output.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Well, all of that will change, if the new Solar Power Tree that launched in India last summer takes off around the globe.
Photo Credit: Twitter, PRNenv
The Solar Power Tree is made up of structures supporting photovoltaic panels that branch out from a central pole. The structure generates up to 5 kilowatts, which is enough to energy to light up five houses. Here’s a shot of the designer and developer of the Solar Power Tree, Dr. Harsh Vardhan.
Photo Credit: Twitter, Dr. Harsh Vardhan
The normal layout of solar panels that we are accustomed to seeing would require 400 square feet of land to produce the amount of energy the Solar Power Tree does.
The main reason for the discrepancy is that traditional solar panels are situated at ground level.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
The Solar Power Tree’s height gives it a huge advantage over its predecessor. The trees actually gather 10-15% more power than ground-based solar panels.
Photo Credit: Twitter, Elaine Beare
The trees already had a successful trial run in three different areas of India, where an estimated 300 million people do not have electricity. Let’s all hope that the tree is a huge success, so the entire globe is able to take advantage of this new technology.
h/t: Mental Floss
