Comparison of Collocation of Solar Concentrators with Bean Fields in Mexico and Potato Fields in Canada and Micromechanical Equipment for Their Production

There is an increased interest in renewable forms of energy across the world, with solar energy being one of the most promising forms. Over the last couple of years, we have developed the MET (MicroEquipment Technology). As an application of the MET, we selected the task of production of solar concentrators. Different types of solar concentrators with flat mirrors were developed and prototypes of these solar concentrators (approximately 1 m in diameter) were made. The proposed solar concentrators were developed on the basis of concentrators patented in Mexico, Spain, and USA. It may be possible to install these concentrators on horizontal roofs of buildings. However, installing them on agricultural fields has become the new trend. As an example, we propose to use them in the potato fields in Canada to obtain dual advantages such as for electrical energy generation and for the minimal loss of agricultural harvest. The second example was analyzed for bean fields, in Mexico. In this paper, we describe the main results in regard to microequipment development for solar concentrator production, several prototypes of solar concentrators with flat mirrors and their co-location and agricultural fields.