by AF1013 f3 — October 16, 2009—CleanBoard, Inc., has changed its name to GlassPoint Solar, Inc., and unveiled products that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sources. GlassPoint sells solar equipment that generates industrial process heat at a lower cost than heat produced by burning natural gas, according to the company.
GlassPoint’s cost savings are achieved by using lightweight mirrors manufactured using advanced composite materials originally developed for the aerospace industry instead of the glass and steel structures used in other solar thermal designs.
Previously the company planned to use its breakthrough solar technology to manufacture gypsum wallboard in its own factories. Now the company is working with major wallboard manufacturers to retrofit their factories to use solar industrial process heat.
The impact on emissions will be dramatic, says GlassPoint. Every thousand square feet of drywall produced requires approximately 2.5 million BTUs of natural gas to be burned emitting 293 pounds of CO2 in the process. There are 35 drywall plants in the US Southwest with a total production capacity of 16 billion square feet per annum. Converting them to solar power would reduce CO2 emissions by over 4.7 billion pounds per year. That is the equivalent of removing half a million cars from the road, says GlassPoint citing the World Resource Institute.
GlassPoint’s technology is not limited to providing energy for drywall manufacture and can be also used in any industrial process that burns natural gas to produce heat, including enhanced oil recovery.
For more information visit the GlassPoint Web.
