Nano solar cells, imagine solar panels without plates. Just a thin layer of paint that converts sunlight into electricity. Keep dreaming: solar energy can be harvested on roofs and on window surfaces. Solar-powered buildings are no longer the preserve of Southern California, and places like China, India, Kenya, and others are starting to embrace solar power because now, it's cheaper than burning coal. This is the prospect that thin-film solar cells PowerSheet paint for us: solar energy is ubiquitous and affordable to the people of third world countries. The underlying technology has been around for decades, but this year, Silicon Valley company Nanosolar has developed the production technology that promises to become a reality.
The company produces solar cells by a method similar to printing, spraying a layer of nano-coating that absorbs light energy onto metal only as thin as an aluminum foil so that the price of solar panels can be reduced to 1/10 of the current price. Founded at Google This year, Nanosolar's first commercial solar panel came out, funded by a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Energy.
The cost has always been the biggest challenge in harnessing solar energy. Traditional solar cells require silicon as the material. And silicon is an expensive commodity. The current global silicon shortage is exacerbating the situation. In addition, conventional solar cells are backed by the glass, which is heavy and dangerous, and expensive to transport and install. This means that with the cheapest solar panels, it also costs $3 to produce 1 watt of electricity. To compete with coal, costs must shrink to $1/watt.
Nanosolar cells use no silicon at all, work as efficiently as most commercial solar cells, and cost as little as 30 cents per watt. "Here we're talking about printing solar cells like a piece of cloth, printing it on a trailer, on a roof, anywhere you can imagine," said Dan Kamen, director of the UC Renewable Energy Laboratory. A remarkable initiative that has revolutionized the way we think about solar cells and the solar economy."
In San Jose, California, Nanosolar has built what will soon be the world's first solar cell factory. When fully operational next year, the factory will produce 430 megawatts of electricity a year from cells, more than any other solar farm in the United States combined, chief executive Martin Rothison claims. The first 100,000 cells will be shipped to Europe for the construction of a 1.4 MW power station.
At present, the biggest problem facing Nanololar is not whether its product functions live up to expectations, but how to meet the strong market demand. Take California as an example. The state recently launched the Million Solar Roof Program, which provides tax breaks and discounts for those who automatically use solar energy, and encourages the installation of 100,000 solar roofs each year for 10 years.
A few days ago, Israel's Orion Solar Company and Bar-Ilan University have jointly developed a nano-dye solar cell. The key part of the cell is only 10 nanometers of titanium oxide. When sunlight hits the dye-coated titanium oxide particles, it absorbs light and transmits solar energy using organic dyes like natural photosynthesis, and passes through the titanium oxide. The conduction band converts solar energy into an electrical current.
The company's head, Brian, said that this type of solar cell is characterized by high efficiency and low cost. Since the dye technology can also generate electricity in low light conditions in the morning and evening, they also used a new method invented by Professor Zaban, director of the Center for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology at Bar-Ilan University, to link nano cells into large single solar cells. and Orion's dye cell technology, therefore, this solar cell has high photoelectric efficiency.
In addition, for solar power generation to be successful, cost reduction is an important factor, not only the power generation cost is lower than the current fossil fuel power generation, but also the infrastructure cost is greatly reduced, otherwise consumers in many countries, especially developing countries, can only " Wang Yang sighed." Although the current silicon solar cell technology is relatively mature, the price has remained high. The power generation cost of this dye solar cell developed by them is only half of that of silicon solar cells, and the production line investment is only a small part of that of silicon solar cells. better market prospects.
Bryan said that the product is expected to be commercialized next year. Their initial goal is not to compete with power companies, but to provide services to remote households in developing countries such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America that are not yet connected to electricity in developing countries that private power companies do not want. This is a huge market. He believes their dye-based solar cells, which can provide enough power for lighting and small appliances, will find use in these regions.
According to the British "Guardian" report, another ultra-thin solar cell using nanotechnology that can be "printed" on aluminum foil has been continuously produced on the assembly line of a factory in California, USA. This solar cell is called by scientists the "revolution" of solar power generation. It was developed and produced by Nanosolar in Silicon Valley. Unlike the solar cells that more and more European consumers install on their roofs to generate electricity, the new battery can be "printed" on aluminum foil like a printed newspaper, with good elasticity and lightweight. Nanosolar expects the panels to generate electricity as cheaply as coal.
Nanosolar said that orders for the product have been placed in mid-2009 and that a second plant will soon be put into operation in Germany.
Eric Oldkop, NanoSolar's manager in Switzerland, said: "Our first solar panels will be used in a solar power plant in Germany. Our goal is to produce cells that generate electricity at a cost of 99 cents a watt. plate."
The report said that in Europe, Japan, China, and the United States, several companies, like Nanosolar companies, are developing and producing different styles of "sheet" solar cells. The U.S. government and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have invested $300 million in commercializing the technology.
Learn more: https://www.easybom.com/blog/a/solar-cell-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work
And silicon is an expensive commodity.
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