Five gallons of ethanol.When the pumps aren't running you would have a fortune there.You're right about concentrating weak sunlight.I've noticed that about halfway to the focal point the light begins to focus.Is that where you had in mind to focus on the solar panels? If that's the case that big lens you have on top could power a 50-100 watt panel easily.Great idea.Have you tried it yet? What do you feel the most efficient heat application from solar is? I've seen some bizarre stuff on youtube.I suppose the variables would decide the application.I've got 4 trojan l16g 6volt batteries I plan to use for my power needs but other than a wood stove i've got no alternative and still undecided.I like the idea of concentrating with the fresnel lens.Thanks.
What would you suggest to store and move the heat accumulated?
Yes, a solar panel about halfway or to get full coverage on the panel. PV panels run best about 25C temp though. As soon as you concentrate you're now making a lot of heat too, you could run a heat sink if you could get a good thermal connection to the panel to draw the heat off but are any designed for this? With the right materials to allow the heat to move away? Just ideas, haven't tried any of it yet. There was a guy Charles Schulz (or something) that had multiple lenses making steam in little boiling chambers. No idea what became of him.
Just sitting in the sun PV panels are something like 10 - 15% efficient. Using the sun to heat water is something like 80% efficient so it makes the most sense to do as much of that as you can.
When you heat water (a really good heat storage medium) you can move it and store it as well for when you need it later. If you set it up right the heat will move into a tank above the solar heater for later use - see thermosiphon systems.
Like you said;any time you convert energy there is a loss.I thought of maybe runing glass or clear plastic tubes above the panel to absorb some of the heat but wouldn't this block enough of the panel from the sun that electrical production would suffer? Would the lens produce enough of an increase to make it efficient enough to run? Probably the only way to find out is to try it.With water slowly circulating through the pipes and a tank a build up of heat should occur.A big enough tank,well insulated,might be enough to keep a residence from freezing.Didn't you say something about the lens in the arctic boosting solar energy? If that big lens could produce enough of a difference,well you never know.
Panels are made of insulating materials, usually plastic, not so good for transferring heat. I suspect the whole thing would overheat and soften the plastic enough that you get flexing, and then you get broken solder joints.
What you want is some kind of panel with heat sinks.
I was doing this a few years ago and ran out of space to work, sidetracked to other stuff. Never did get a solar tracker hooked up. These things are mighty powerful, be careful please.
First incarnation - a pair of TV lenses, focused on a 1.5 inch copper pipe. It's in the back yard now for "UV stability testing". Garage has no space and I made the damn thing too big to fit through any door.Is this the lens you brought to the meet that you accidentally burned the fence with?
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Why don't you just go ahead and tell everyone?
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Why don't you just go ahead and tell everyone?
Don't worry I won't tell a soul 
I wasn't sure if it was your lens or Ranger's lens but I figured that it must have been one of them.
And don't worry I won't mention the fire starting competition either 😆
Yes me. When it was on the stand it's like a huge sail but I had it oriented in a safe direction, the wind caught it and knocked it over. It was just the right place and the sun came around and set the fence on fire. Not really on fire, it bored a hole through a board like a laser and left the edges smoking heavily. My wife noticed and hosed the fence down. She proclaimed my experiments a danger to the entire neighborhood, not just us.
my friend just told me that her boss's grandaughter had a magnifying mirror which she left at a bad angle in the bathroom and inadvertently set the curtains on fire.
Not too long ago I bought a little magnifying mirror at Ikea to mount in the bathroom. There were all sorts of warnings within the packaging about safety regarding the potential for fire.