Renewable Energy Research.October 12, 2007The National Engineering Research and Development Center (NERD as it's called) supposedly does research into renewable energy. What it actually does is just waste tax payer money. I went there today to speak to them about solar power. Didn't see any nerds but did see a lot of impractical devices they had supposedly invented. Well that's not quite fair, they do have a few usefull inventions but they have done nothing with them. They don't have any licensees of the technology willing to take it to the market. One of the useless devices seen was a solar cooker. It was a huge parabola like a satellite dish. It's surface had been covered with mirrors. At the focal point you can suspend a pot or a kettle. The only trouble is the cooker would cost more than a high end oven with four burner cooker on top. I have heard of such parabolic reflecters being using with PV cells but for solar thermal applications it's absurd. What you don't think it's absurd? then check out the $3 Cookit. Which is a solar cooker. 
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