![]() ![]() Some scientists are even questioning the foundational material of solar panels- silicon-and experimenting with organic photovoltaics and perovskite solar cells, which replace silicon with more widely available compounds for cheaper manufacturing, as well as quantum solar cells, which are made of microscopic semiconductor particles and can more efficiently harvest the sun’s energy. COURTESY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY/BUMPER DEJESUS Researchers at Princeton University recently developed a new perovskite device with a usable life span of 30 years, opening up new possibilities for the technology. Perovskite solar cells can be manufactured more cheaply than silicon-based panels but break down too quickly for commercial applications. Emerging technologies include pyramidal lenses, developed by researchers at Stanford University, which promise to concentrate the amount of light that hits a solar cell-getting the same amount of light to hit an area a third of the size-a breakthrough that could make solar panels more efficient in indirect light conditions. ![]() New innovations promise to make solar panels that are cheaper, more powerful, and less wasteful at the end of their useful life. In the past ten years alone, the cost per kilowatt of solar energy has fallen from nearly $2 to about 34 cents. Since then, the race to make solar energy more efficient and less expensive has been underway and progress has been dramatic. The photovoltaic effect, the process by which the sun’s rays are converted into electrical current, was discovered all the way back in 1839 by French physicist Edmond Becquerel, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that the first modern silicon-based solar cells were demonstrated at Bell Labs. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |