MIT students are developing a prototype for a low-cost concentrating solar power system they think could revolutionize the field.

It’s a 12-foot-square mirrored dish capable of concentrating sunlight by a factor of 1,000, built from simple, inexpensive industrial materials selected for price, durability and ease of assembly rather than for optimum performance.

They believe that in mass production, the dishes can be competitive in cost with other energy sources and could produce heat for space heating and electric power at the same time.