Solar Energy: Reshaping Future of Energy

Imagine Solar PV panels installed at the roof of your house in a matter of a year; thousands of pounds of CO2 offset and saving of and thousands of dollars saved at the same time. According to the experts there would be a challenging need of around 30 TW (Tera watts) by 2050 to maintain economic growth and ever increasing energy needs of expanding economies like China and India. A large Chunk of this 30 TW will have to come from non carbon source. To accommodate such an explosive growth a source of energy is there which is limitless yet zero carbon emission. For this reason scientists are looking towards the solution SUN. More energy reaches our planet in one hour through the sun than the energy consumed by the planet every year. According to Cal Tech Materials Chemists Nat Lewis no less than 600 TW of useable energy is available world wide.

Ground breaking research and development has been done not only to enhance and achieve maximum efficiency but to address another major issue which is the cost. In 1955 Hoffman Electronics-Semiconductor Division created a commercial solar cell with 2 % efficiency at a cost of $25/cell or $1785/watt. With the extensive research and development the efficiency increased to record breaking 42.8 the cost has gone down as well is becoming affordable. As of 2005, photovoltaic electricity generation costs ranged from 0.60$/kWh in the regions of high solar irradiation.

According to Frank von Hippel and Robert H. Williams the flow of solar Energy through the Earth’s natural system is about 10 thousand times greater than the flow of fossil fuel energy through man’s machines. The global economies with all its ever increasing demands of meeting energy needs, should shift towards solar economy is inevitable. With some economic constraints involved which can be easily removed by reshaping global policies? .I will continue the post to discuss the constraints and possible solutions.

Rainbow flux

Researches at PrizmaTech Labs have recently revealed an incredible breakthrough in solar technology that’s sure to brighten your day. The development utilizes specially calibrated ROYGBIV panels to collect solar energy over a broad spectrum of wavelengths, yielding an unheard-of energy efficiency rating that is 7 times greater than conventional panels. The fortuitous find employs rainbows as naturally occurring instances of refracted light, paving the pathway towards an exciting new source of renewable energy.

The development has spawned a new breed of crack solar-savvy meteorologists dubbed ‘Rainbow Chasers’, who are ready to mobilize at a moments notice to deploy the new arrays. For optimal efficiency, these polychromatic powerhouses can be set up at each end of a rainbow, although expandable photo-voltaic archways are in development that would take advantage of the entire length of a rainbow.

Such structures will figure prominently in the world’s first Rainbow Farm, currently in development and slated for a 2012 grand opening.

Solar-Powered MP3/Video Player

eMotion Media player

A complete off Grid and self powered Media player that runs on sunlight needing 12 to 15 hours of sun for 9 hours of music playback. Seems quite a long charging time in an average busy daily life but its ideal for backpacking and hiking trips to wilderness and if you are in the sun, sun light alone is sufficient to drive the music player with depending on the batteries a value added feature of this player is that you can charge other portable devices a set of six connectors for charging laptops, cell phones, and other portable devices.................read more

Much thinner!

The way that solar technology is moving ahead it’s truly exciting. NOW a team of British researchers from Durham University have developed light absorbing materials for use in the production of super-thin layer photovoltaic, thin enough of be called photovoltaic sheets instead of panels. These thin cells could be installed on homes or even moving cars, and should be significantly less expensive than their thicker counterparts.
The research team is being led by Ken Durose, from the Durham Center for Renewable Energy. Why do we need thin layer photovoltaic? The more common thicker photovoltaic contain iridium and other rare and expensive materials. Thus, by creating thinner PV's, the cost of these panels will be reduced. Ideally, if the project disparages out, these panels will be installed on homes to fulfill their power requirements and give back any excess power to the grid. Furthermore, if they are thin and light enough, they could be installed on moving vehicles.