The high cost, diminishing supply and environmental impact of fossil fuels continues to promote interest in solar energy, biomass combustion, geothermal heat, industrial waste heat recovery and other alternative clean energy sources. For example, solar energy has been used to heat water for use in homes and businesses for many years. Likewise, direct conversion of solar energy to electricity has been used for many years for satellites and spacecraft. But, these existing solar energy systems typically have low thermal efficiencies, require large installation areas and/or require expensive components. As a result, systems to efficiently and cost effectively convert solar energy to electricity are not available to the general public.
Accordingly, there is a need for a more efficient and economical turbine for use in solar energy, biomass combustion, geothermal heat and industrial waste heat recovery systems.