Across the globe, a
clutch of companies from Oxford, England to Redwood City, Calif. are working to
commercialize a new solar
technology that could further
boost the adoption of renewable energy
generation.
Solar energy
remains one of the most used forms of renewable energy. However, it is
generally not the only option used when creating power. This is because solar cells are limited in the amount of power created.
No matter how bright the sunlight or how many hours of continual sunlight, the
solar power cells create a certain amount without going higher. This leaves
untapped solar power bypassing the cells.
However, with a
recent creation in Abu Dhabi, it looks as if individuals looking to power their
homes with solar energy or cities looking for ways to generate renewable
energy can look more
towards solar power than ever before.
The new creation
takes the basic solar cell and both concentrates and separates the sunlight
into different spectrums. Essentially, it allows the sunlight to travel through
a prism. The prism (similar to prisms used in elementary school science
projects) filters out the unnecessary material that is not used to create
energy and boosts the concentration of the solar power which is directed
towards the cell. It also helps focused the light so it can be harnessed into a
much higher, more contracted energy.
New chemistries for
solar cell manufacturing have been touted in the past, but cost has been an
obstacle to commercial rollout, given how cheaply solar panels became thanks in
part to a massive push from the Chinese government to increase manufacturing
capacity.
Many of those
manufacturers eventually folded, but the survivors managed to maintain their
dominant position in the industry by reducing the need for buyers to look to
newer technologies for cost or efficiency savings.
In the traditional form of solar energy, the
cells transform light energy into electricity. During this process, only some
of the sun’s light is absorbed. It only converts, at maximum, 18 percent of the
light into electricity.
With the new prism
based solar cells, it is now possible to boost production to around 40 percent
of that given off by the sun. This way, it is 2.5 times as efficient as the
former devices, all without drastically increasing the price of the solar
cells. There truly is a new method for creating solar energy and for boosting
the production of energy while using the light from the sun itself.
Related Articles:
https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2007/10/whats-the-difference-between-solar-energy-and-solar-power-50358.html
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