Honestly, it’s not a great take from low-tech magazine.

This does not replace what solar panels do, which is to be an almost entirely passive way to collect/generate clean energy. It requires a fuel source, produces dirty emissions, requires actively monitoring while in use, and generates very little energy relative to what it is exposed to.

It’s potentially good for reusing waste heat as a small amount of electricity but it’s very little compared to other methods of reclamation like a hot water heater or an actual steam engine.

It was absolutely a way to show they were working on green technologies that likely wouldn’t pan out. There was very little adoption in the mid-2000s and they persisted over a decade later trying to push the same fuel with no infrastructure in place. It was designed to flop.

Do you have any guides or resources you use for getting started with them?