Quantum Dot Recipe May Lead To Cheaper Solar Panels

Science Daily is reporting that scientists have developed a new method for cost-effectively producing four-armed quantum dots that have previously been shown to be particularly effective at converting sunlight into electrical energy. The discovery could clear the way for better, cheaper solar energy panels.

Comments

Oil Companies

[biocute]

I notice oil companies are heavily involved in solar energy, are they securing their future and/or slowing solar tech down?

I would hate to reincarnate into a world where BP is still selling me (solar) energy as costly as what it is today.

Can individuals adequately produce energy themselves in the future, or will big-corps still be the real suppliers?

Re:Oil Companies

[Rycross]

I remember hearing here on slashdot that a lot of the energy companies actually recognize the fact of global warming. That, combined with the dual threat of peak oil, and they probably see the writing on the wall. To that effect, they're probably looking for ways to maintain their bottom line. Corporations are many things, but they aren't evil just for the heck of it. They're in it for profit.

Re:Oil Companies

[Jeremi]

I'm confused. Are you trying to say corporations are evil, but it's ok since it helps them make money?

He's saying they aren't immoral so much as amoral. They don't sit around twirling their mustaches thinking of new ways to ruin the planet; rather, they sit around twirling their mustaches thinking up new ways to make money.

Re:Oil Companies

[Jeremi]

Fossil fuel is still pretty cheap, even with the OPEC cartel.

Don't forget to factor in the externalized costs (air pollution, global warming, terrorism, your children getting sent to Iraq, etc). The price you pay at the pump isn't the only price there is to be paid.

Re:Oil Companies

[Rei]

So, let's see if I have this straight. If oil companies don't invest in renewables, then they're referred to as dinosaurs and treated as garbage that's holding the world back while they destroy it. If oil companies do invest in renewables -- in the case of solar, outright doubling the amount of investment dollars in it (esp. BP and Shell) -- then they're only doing it to lay out patent minefields and stamp out development.

Tell me -- how do they win? No, really -- what can they do to make you happy? Leave the oil industry altogether, so that prices shoot through the roof, and some other oil company which cares *less* for the environment can take their place?

Meanwhile, people like you just keep driving and driving, taking airplanes and using plastics, and all the while acting like it's someone else's fault. Well, guess what? The problem is *consumption*.

Some oil companies, like Shell and BP, are hedging their bets with investments in renewables and carbon sequestration. While in each case it's only a couple percent of their revenues, the oil industry is so much bigger than the renewables industry that it majorly increases the dollars going into renewables. They're making that bet so that, in case energy sources do change or carbon sequestration is mandated, they're in a position to capitalize on it. Since sequestration and renewables would drive their competitors out of business, you'll find lots of instances of Shell and BP execs encouraging governments to act on climate change. Others, like the monstrously big Exxon-Mobil, aren't taking that bet. As a consequence, you'll find that something like 90% of the anti-global-warming and anti-renewables PR can trace back to them.

That's not to say that even the renewables supporters are angels. They still lobby, like all oil companies, for laws that protect their core businesses**. It's a dirty business, and the stricter environmental controls are for production, the tougher it is for them. Still, I'm a firm believer that A) renewables investments so big that they double the size the investment pool in some cases are a very good thing, and B) instead of complaining about those evil old oil companies, *stop consuming their damn product* if you have a problem with it. If you don't, you're *part of the problem*. The world's burdens shouldn't fall on their shoulders just because *you* don't want to think of yourself as part of the problem when you're the reason why they have to produce that environment-destroying stuff in the first place.

** On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised when I looked up what was being lobbied for and found that most oil companies, even Exxon-Mobil, lobby as "peaceniks" ;) Each major oil company had at least one country that they were pushing for more peaceful relations with. Why? You can't safely drill in a war-torn nation, and you can't drill in a nation that has a cold war going with your country. One wanted better relations with Iran. Another wanted better relations with Libya (they got that). And on, and on.

Re:Oil Companies

[Rycross]

You're getting off track. We're not discussing whether or not their actions are evil. We're discussing whether they're investing in solar to bury it or in order to bring it to a viable means of energy production. My point is that the board room members aren't villains from "Captain Planet." They don't sit around going "MWA HA HA HA! Lets kill off solar! Its good for the planet, thus doing so would be EVIL! And we're EVIL! MWA HA HA!" If they're attempting to kill off solar, it would be done so in order to make profit, since thats their goal.

I then go on further to say that global warming, peak oil, and other various problems with oil as an energy source are starting to gain a lot of focus by the populace at large. I theorize that the oil company executives see where the tides are turning, and are investing in solar to maintain their profits when the tides finally turn. I don't see them sinking R and D money into solar just to ignore a possible revenue stream, especially since investing that money in politicians could just as easily solve the whole "solar problem."

Of course, other posters pointed out that they may have a short-term view, which may be the case. Its all speculation, unless you know someone very high in the decision making process at one of these companies.

At any rate, I'm certainly not suggesting that the oil companies are gee-golly our best friends, nor am I suggesting that doing evil to make money is a-ok.

Reading comprehension FTW.

Re:Oil Companies

[Tuoqui]

Technically you cant 'stop consuming their damn product' unless other companies stop too. Everything comes in plastic and plastic comes from oil. Even computer parts come wrapped in some form of plastic. If you dont drive a car you probably need to take the bus, train and/or other method of public transit to get to and from places. Even electric powered vehicles are probably getting their power by burning oil at some point along the line (though it could be nuclear which isnt as bad it comes with its own unique set of problems). These oil companies are not just in oil. They are in energy. Energy is what Oil is essentially after all. They're big because they manage to worm their way into every nook and cranny of every other business they deal with.

Re:YASPB

[hey!]

The problem is not that solar panels aren't improving fast enough.

The problem is that petroleum is still so cheap.

So for the time being, we have not crossed any economic thresholds for application types, nor are we looking at any such developments in the next serval years. So while basic engineering developments are promising, we aren't going see much investment aimed at making solar part of our daily lives.

We haven't reach world peak petroleum production yet. As we approach it, and the rate of production increase slows relative to world economic growth, things will change.

Re:A long way to go yet

[mcrbids]

As with all stories about incremental progress in solar cell there are still a few hurdles yet to overcome:

What's funny is that progress is almost always incremental, and we adjust to each of these changes easily so we don't notice the advances.

My 5-seat Saturn burns down the highway at 90 MPH, and gets over 30 MPG doing it, fully loaded, and has great handling all the way up. Try that in a 70's Comet. My dual-core laptop with 2 GB of RAM burns less power than an amazingly slower (but power efficient for its time!) K6-2 processor-based from 10 years ago. The concept of the Internet was mind-boggling 12 years ago when it was first introduced to me. Now, my 1.5 Mbit fixed IP DSL internet connection is ho hum by today's standards.

Progress is constant, slow, and incremental. But go back 10, 20, or 50 years and compare life then to today and you might be amazed. I don't imagine that Solar power will be any different.

Remember when a solar calculator was a big deal? Now, they're commonly available at the local $1 store. Nowadays, a 120-watt incandescent light bulb uses more electricity than virtually all the lights in my house, since the Compact Florescent bulbs I use everywhere are so efficient.

I recently added a 1,500 foot extension to my house. So, I'm a big energy waster, right?

Well, it looks like it actually REDUCES our energy consumption! Its got outer walls built with 2x6 instead of 2x4s, has double-paned windows, and over 2 FEET of insulation in the attic. Because of the double-pane windows, lighting needs are minimal, since we don't need to use lights during the day. The insulation is so good that when the doors/windows are closed, the temperature deviates by about 10 degrees through the day even though outside it has climbed to over 90 degrees. WOW! I don't think we'll even bother running the A/C in the older part of the house - to get comfortable, just go into the new extension!

A big part of making solar work will be in reducing our demand for power.

Show me the cheap pannels!

[Deagol]

I've been a /. member for 10 years now, and these "cheaper, more efficient" solar panel techniques have popped up at least a two or three times a year. When the hell can I go shopping for consumer grade panels and find something substantially below $4/Watt?

Given the subsidies solar research has had since the 70s, I can't figure out why progress has been so slow for the past 30 years. I'm not a big conspiracy buff, but, given the explosive rate of technology on other fronts over the same period, something just doesn't seem right.

Re:How about storage

[flyingfsck]

Alternatively, you could build a world-wide grid. The sun is always shining somewhere.

Re:How about storage

[matt21811]

"How do we store it?"

By pumping water uphill.

Re:How about storage

[MtViewGuy]

Problem with flywheel plants: they need very high quality metallurgy, ceramics or composite materials--none of which are cheap--to make them work, especially when you have to factor in the physics of a big, fast-spinning flywheel.

A better solution is to develop MIT's nanotube supercapacitor power storage units, which eliminates the complications of fast-moving parts and still offer quite a lot of power storage in a unit not much bigger than an air conditioning compressor for a whole house.