Solar Coffee Machine

Any modern day convenience can be run on solar power! From portable solar power recharging devices to solar water purifiers, there is no end to the uses we can create with solar energy.

Solar coffee machine on display

A solar coffee machine, as part of a renewable energy project in Abu Dhabi, can create espresso with concentrating solar power (CSP), according to Masdar Power, a unit of the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar). Recently, the solar coffee machine was unveiled at the Organic Market, at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology.

Not only is this use of solar energy practical, but the solar coffee machine helps to demonstrate how solar power will be produced at Shams 1 – a 100 megawatt (MW) project which will generate enough solar energy for 100,000 people by July 2012.

If you are not familiar with concentrating solar power, as opposed to photovoltaic solar power, CSP uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight and superheat water to create steam, which turns a turbine to generate electricity.

The solar coffee machine uses about 1/2 liter of water, which is fitted at the center of a solar panel (with coffee grounds at the tip). When sunlight hits the mirrors and is directed to a tube, the water within it is heated quickly, which creates coffee as it is mixed with the grounds.

The demonstration is not so much to showcase a new way to brew coffee, but to demonstrate the potential of using solar power for a number of everyday uses.

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