They look like foil party balloons, but they are actually very efficient solar concentrators. These solar “balloons” were developed by a company called
Cool Earth, based in California, and it has just
received $21 million dollars in investor funding. The company is now planning to build a 10-megawatt plant of solar balloons in the next couple years. This power plant would be comprised of 10,000 balloons, and cover roughly 80 acres!