Saulės kolektorius nuo PV jėgainių skiriu ir Didžiojoje Britanijoje jų pasitaiko nemažai. W/€ yra tikrai opi problema, tačiau laikas nuo laiko pasirodo viena kita idėja, kuri visą tai gali pakeisti:
Growing Solar Panels Is Cheap, Efficient and (Relatively) Easy
http://www.wired.com/rawfile/2010/04...caltech-solar/
Growing Solar Panels Is Cheap, Efficient and (Relatively) Easy
PASADENA, California — There are many political and economic barriers to widely adopting solar panels, but part of the problem is also technological. Now, researchers at Caltech have created a new solar-panel material that could replace solar cells as we know them.
Currently there are two primary types of photovoltaic, or PV, cells. The first is a solid silicon-based PV cell that is very efficient, but also expensive to make and relatively fragile. The second is a thin film cell, which is relatively cheap to make but not as efficient. This new material potentially bridges that gap, creating a PV cell that is cheap to make, but which is close to the efficiency of traditional silicon-based solar panels.
The new solar material made of tiny silicon wires could “dramatically reduce the cost of making a silicon solar cell,” according to Harry Atwater, head of the Atwater Research Group at Caltech.
“Instead of the expensive process of making a wafer and slicing it up with a saw, throwing away two thirds of it,” says Atwater, “We grow the material and literally peel it off. The plastic sheet is peeled off like scotch tape off a tape dispenser.”
The material is relatively easy to produce and uses 99 percent less silicon than a regular solar panel. Despite the small amount of material, the silicon wire panels have very high solar-absorption rates, with efficiency levels much higher than current polymer film panels. Theoretically, more panels could be produced for less money using this process, which would bring the cost per watt for solar energy way down.
Currently there are two primary types of photovoltaic, or PV, cells. The first is a solid silicon-based PV cell that is very efficient, but also expensive to make and relatively fragile. The second is a thin film cell, which is relatively cheap to make but not as efficient. This new material potentially bridges that gap, creating a PV cell that is cheap to make, but which is close to the efficiency of traditional silicon-based solar panels.
The new solar material made of tiny silicon wires could “dramatically reduce the cost of making a silicon solar cell,” according to Harry Atwater, head of the Atwater Research Group at Caltech.
“Instead of the expensive process of making a wafer and slicing it up with a saw, throwing away two thirds of it,” says Atwater, “We grow the material and literally peel it off. The plastic sheet is peeled off like scotch tape off a tape dispenser.”
The material is relatively easy to produce and uses 99 percent less silicon than a regular solar panel. Despite the small amount of material, the silicon wire panels have very high solar-absorption rates, with efficiency levels much higher than current polymer film panels. Theoretically, more panels could be produced for less money using this process, which would bring the cost per watt for solar energy way down.
http://www.wired.com/rawfile/2010/04...caltech-solar/
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