Students learn about solar power industry | Schools

A class of Tech Valley High School students in East Greenbush will get a professional assist in studying the technology behind two alternative energy sources that have grabbed headlines recently.

Students in Diana Weldon's chemistry class will hear from Tyler Justin from Monolith Solar on Thursday.   The solar power expert will provide insight into the commercial solar power industry and the industries being developed around other alternative fuels.

According to the school’s communications coordinator, Mike McCagg, the juniors have spent the last couple of weeks studying nuclear reactors and energy, the incident in Japan, and alternative energy sources.

Earlier this year, the juniors researched and created biodomes that would allow humans to colonize outer space. The biodomes featured dye sensitized solar cells as a redundant energy source for the domes, Weldon said.