New solar farm adds hot water to cheap electricity

By Ari Rabinovitch

KVUTZAT YAVNE, Israel (Reuters) - An energy company in Israel plans to launch a solar farm this month using new technology it says can produce cheap and efficient electricity while supplying hot water to homes.

As with all solar energy systems, investors and consumers may be turned off by high initial costs and the need for strong sunlight. But if the commercial pilot works, Israeli start-up ZenithSolar plans to make small units for homes in two years.

ZenithSolar CEO Roy Segev says its energy dish can transform 75 percent of the sunlight it absorbs into electricity and hot water, with a cost of 8.6 cents per kilowatt hour.

Conventional solar panels generate electricity from sunlight with less than 15 percent efficiency and can cost more than double per kilowatt hour.

With billions of dollars being invested in global green stimulus plans, energy companies worldwide are racing to develop more efficient environmentally friendly technologies.

ZenithSolar says that in peak conditions, its system can produce electricity and hot water at a cost to consumers that can compete with fossil fuels without government subsidies.

Asked about the Israeli company's system, Ken Zweibel, director of the Institute for Analysis of Solar Energy at George Washington University, said he saw some shortcomings.

The reason the running costs are low, he said, is because the Zenith system produces mostly thermal energy in hot water, rather than more valuable electricity. He also said all solar cells lose efficiency when operating at such hot temperatures.