A heating and cooling system powered by renewable energy and assisted with geothermal energy includes a solar cycling unit, a supercritical carbon dioxide (S—CO.sub.2) unit, and a refrigerant cycling unit. Solar energy obtained at the solar cycling unit may be used to power the S—CO.sub.2 cycling unit. To do so, the solar cycling unit utilizes a solar collector, a thermal energy storage, and a heat exchanger along with a first working fluid which is preferably molten salt or Therminol. Next, the energy generated at the S—CO.sub.2 cycling unit, which preferably circulates S—CO.sub.2 as a second working fluid, may be used to operate the refrigerant cycling unit. In the refrigerant cycling unit, Tetrafluroethene is preferably used as the third working fluid to produce required cooling effects. Additionally, geothermal heat exchangers may be integrated into the system for use during varying weather conditions.

A system is disclosed that utilizes renewable energy to generate high temperature, superheated steam for driving a prime mover, such as a steam turbine coupled to an electrical generator, and/or to deliver heat where only a portion of the renewable energy system needs to withstand a high temperature working fluid that is necessary to generate high temperature superheated steam.

A bladeless fluid/vapor includes: (a) three or more turbine discs disposed within a case, wherein each turbine disc has a center opening, a first set of holes substantially equally spaced from one another along a first radius, a second set of holes substantially equally spaced from one another along a second radius, and two or more of the turbine discs have a set of exhaust ports positioned annularly around the center opening; (b) the case includes a main housing, a cover and one or more fluid/vapor inlets oriented to direct a fluid/vapor onto an outer portion of the turbine discs; (c) a drive shaft passing through the center openings of the turbine discs and attached to the turbine discs; (d) a fluid/vapor outlet in the cover; and (e) a set of exhaust holes proximate to and connected to the fluid/vapor outlet that are positioned annularly around the drive shaft.

A scalable parabolic or disc shaped mirror, that is formed and maintained by inflating, with air or inert gas, a rigid polymer membrane envelope, that is pre-formed, and such that when inflated, forms this parabolic or disc shape, governed by a center supporting pole, and ring around circumference of the mirror. The top half of the ballooned envelope is made of a clear transparent membrane through which the sun's rays pass through and on to the lower inner lower surface, which is coated with reflective surface. The balloon is skewered through the middle of each membrane, and clamped with flanges to hermetically seal the envelope. The pole or center structure is anchored and hinged at the base so the Pneumatic Mirror can be articulated to face towards the sun, thus focussing the energy to whatever device is at the focal point.

Methods and apparatus for concentrating electromagnetic waves coming from a moving source at a focal point fixed to the ground. The invention discloses a tracking system for a device capable of concentrating incoming electromagnetic waves at a fixed focal point. This concentration of the electromagnetic waves may be done by reflection, as in the case of a reflecting dish, or by refraction as in the case of a concentrating lens, which is impeded in a hemisphere, which can be real or imaginary, such that its focal point coincides with the center of the hemisphere and using this apparatus to track such moving source by rotating around said hemisphere's fixed center, so as to face the incoming electromagnetic rays normally. A receiver can be kept at the focal point of the device which uses the concentrated rays for various applications such as melting metals or charging a solar cell.

A solar energy powered Stirling duplex cooler is presented which includes a Stirling engine and a Stirling cooler. The Stirling engine drives the Stirling cooler to produce cold temperatures for refrigeration or air conditioning. The Stirling duplex cooler includes a solar concentrator to focus high temperature solar radiation upon the Stirling engine expansion space. The Stirling duplex cooler further includes a thermal storage tank to receive and store heat rejected from the cooler expansion space. This stored heat is used to operate the cooler at night. A flywheel connected operatively to engine and cooler expansion space pistons and a crankshaft connected operatively to engine and cooler compression space pistons actuate the pistons to move a working fluid between the expansion and compression spaces.

Concentrated solar power and heating systems using solar receivers, and related devices and methods, are generally described.

Systems related to concentrated solar combination heating and power generation; solar heating; industrial heat driven power generation; thermal storage systems and heat exchanger and power generation systems therefore, including any of the above with optional supplemental fuel production, and associated methods, are generally described.

A solar energy powered Stirling duplex cooler is presented which includes a Stirling engine and a Stirling cooler. The Stirling engine drives the Stirling cooler to produce cold temperatures for refrigeration or air conditioning. The Stirling duplex cooler includes a solar concentrator to focus high temperature solar radiation upon the Stirling engine expansion space. The Stirling duplex cooler further includes a thermal storage tank to receive and store heat rejected from the cooler expansion space. This stored heat is used to operate the cooler at night. A flywheel connected operatively to engine and cooler expansion space pistons and a crankshaft connected operatively to engine and cooler compression space pistons actuate the pistons to move a working fluid between the expansion and compression spaces.

A concentrating solar power plant includes a solar light capturing part configured to capture solar light; and a heat exchange part configured to transform solar energy, from the captured solar light, into heat, which is stored in a solid medium, wherein the solid medium is stored underground. The solar light capturing part has a heliostat farm, a beam down solar concentrator, and a compound concentrator, each configured to reflect the solar light.