Solar power has come a long way in the last half century. When the first solar cell was developed in 1954 by Bell Laboratories (presently known as AT&T and Labs), scientists anticipated that eventually the sun would provide for the world’s energy needs. Today, new solar power innovations are making this a reality.
Formed by MIT engineers, Covalent Solar is revolutionizing the solar panel industry. Unlike conventional concentrators, their dye-based solar concentrator does not require any tracking or cooling systems so overall costs are greatly minimized. This is how it works: a special mixture of dyes is coated on large glass panel; sunlight is absorbed and transported within the glass to the solar cells at the edge. Because there is very little energy loss with the dye, power obtained from the solar cells increases 10-fold. And, when added onto existing panels, efficiency increases by 50%. Production is expected in the next three years. So, keep your eyes out.
Voted one of the 50 inventions by Time Magazine, NanoSolar’s flexible thin-film solar panels are manufactured at a fraction of the cost of conventional panels. Unlike most silicon panels, which need to be baked in bulk, their panels are being printed in mass, just like newspapers. The process is simple: roll and print. The results are solar cells produced 100 times faster and 100 times thinner, reaching efficiency of about 14%.
Traditionally, solar concentrators are large pieces of metal or mirrors that focus the sun’s rays directly onto solar cells by following the sun’s movement throughout the day. These systems are generally expensive to install and maintain. However, Cool Earth Solar has created a much simpler alternative: balloon. By coating half of the balloon with plastic film (the same film used to bag potato chips) and leaving the other half transparent, the balloon acts like a concave mirror, focusing sunlight directly onto the solar cell. The result is a very cheap solar concentrator that generates up to 400 times the electricity of a solar cell without a concentrator.
Plants have inspired a new generation of solar cells. By mimicking plants’ ability to convert sunlight into energy, researchers have developed a new hybrid photovoltaic device that delivers unprecedented amounts of energy. Each nanoscale component of the device has a specific function the same way each molecule does in photosynthesis. Although still in the early stages of development, researchers at the University of Southampton are confident in its possibilities.
I think its shameful that solar technology has not advanced dramatically over the last 100 years. When photovoltaics were first proposed as an alternative energy source, oil giants Shell and British Petroleum jumped in and dominated the industry. They have not done anything to improve the technology or the efficiency of the product. General Electric has continued to buy up any innovative technology and make sure that it never meets the light of day. Our governments have conspired with them to make absolutely certain that solar never becomes successful. Think of all the taxes on your electric bill. Think of all the profitable oil wars that must be protected. I propose a photovoltaic revolution where we circumvent the government rules, certification and rebate systems. I like the covalent option. It seems to be flexible, able to be used for both new and existing solar installations.
I also like the NanoSolar; its seeming lack of flexibility (new installations only) is offset by the reduced cost. While at first glance the solar balloons seem like a good idea, upon further reflection (pun intended), do we really want our skies chock full of these balloons (are we swapping “real” polllution for “aesthetic” or “visuual” pollution?
