What Is The Future Of Solar Energy

Daniel Kearns

Mike Barnards answer looks at the future of solar energy from a macro-economic view. Lets look at the future of solar energy from a technological standpoint, and focus on a few key, developing technologies:

1. PHOTO-VOLTAIC CELLS. Silicone based PV Cells will get cheaper. As the total units manufactured doubles, the cost decreases 20%. This will become the near future as costs are driven down. However, the future of PV cells is printing them. Much of the cost of a Si PV Cell is in the substrate, but as they are being printed on paper and fabric, the cost of material and manufacturing goes down significantly. Inkjet Printed PV cells are approaching 4% efficiency which is far below the 20% efficiency of an Si PV cell, but they are much cheaper to manufacture. The future is in printed, flexible PV cells, as they begin to approach the efficiency of traditional PV cells.

2. SOLAR POWER TOWER. A collection of mirrors focuses the suns light on a tower which uses the heat to generate steam which turns an electrical turbine. These plants are very efficient and fall in between coal and nuclear plants in terms of cost to build, but they are very inexpensive to operate. As they become more efficient, and use various liquids to store the heat which means they can operate even at night, the cost of power will decline dramatically.

3. RESIDENTIAL APPLICATIONS FOR SOLAR USE. I can see many homes being equipped with solar furnaces, solar hot water heaters, etc. As these ideas become cheaper and more efficient it will make more sense for builders to begin incorporating them into residential projects. Also, reducing the impact the sun has on heating a building will also increase the efficiency at which the building is cooled. Think of it as anti-solar energy, and improvements in coatings, insulation, and building design will make future buildings more energy efficient.

4. SOLAR FUNNEL. The far distant future. Using nano-technology, researchers have found ways to harness much more of the suns power, including the invisible spectrum. The solar funnel uses nano-materials under elastic strain to capture more electricity than is currently possible. It might be decades before this technology is ready for commercialization, but it very well maybe the future.

Funneling the sun's energy - MIT News Office

The sun provides enough energy to power the entire world. We just need to capture it.

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Origin: green-power-project.blogspot.com