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New Solar Cell Sets Record For Energy Efficiency
Lucas123 writes "After three years of work, German and French researchers have achieved a new world record on converting sunlight to energy through a photovoltaic cell, achieving a 44.7% rate of efficiency, which was measured at a concentration of 297 suns. The efficiency rating means the solar cell collects 44.7% of the sun's spectrum's energy, from ultraviolet to the infrared spectrum, which is converted into electrical energy. The team of researchers said the technology places them on the path to achieving their roadmap of 50% efficiency in solar energy conversion."
At cleantechnica site you can see a priced drop of $76/w to under $.74 a watt in only (sorta wish it was .76 a watt for neatness sake, dontcha?)
http://cleantechnica.com/2013/05/24/solar-powers-massive-price-drop-graph/
You can also see a similar exponential but reverse growth curve off a link from that page.
Elsewhere, I saw solar was projected to generate more energy than the U.S. currently generates by 2050-- and to quintuple from there by 2100.
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Loved "Mystery Men". On my top 100 list.
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
Germany: Your Unlikely World Leader in Solar Power
germany solar leaderThe average day in Germany is cloudy. In fact, Germans see an average of just over 1500 hours of sunshine per year, a bit less than 64 days worth of sunlight. Needless to say, Germany would be one of the last countries you’d expect to be the overwhelming leader in solar energy production. Yet here it is. Germany alone has half of the world’s solar installations and is the third-largest producer of solar cells. Q-Cells, a German company, recently pulled ahead of Sharp as the world’s largest maker of photovoltaic cells. So how did they do it? How could a dreary country like Germany singlehandedly conquer the solar industry?
To find out, one need look no further than the German government’s aggressive renewable energy incentives. In 2000 the Renewable Energy Sources Act was passed, requiring the country’s utility companies to purchase electricity from solar start-ups at rates higher than retail value. Commonly known as feed-in tariffs, these subsidies made it easy for new solar companies to turn a profit. In fact, their profits were pretty much locked in, and companies raced to get started. That’s how in just four years Germany was already responsible for half of solar electricity generated worldwide.
Now, eight years later the country is still going strong. The progressive law is a broad measure attempting to reduce carbon emissions. The goal is to derive a quarter of its power from renewable sources by 2020. They are already ahead of the 12.5%-by-2010 benchmark set by the European Union. Germany already stands tall with 14.2% of its electricity coming from renewable sources.
And the effect of Germany’s solar leadership has resonated globally. Spain, France, Italy, and Greece have installed similar incentive plans. And U.S. states, led by California, have instituted German-inspired incentives such as net metering.
Link: http://solar.calfinder.com/blog/solar-information/germany-your-unlikely-world-leader-in-solar-power/
Yawn...
Another day another solar cell breakthrough that wont see the light of day (see what I did there) for 10 years if ever.
Why is it none of these ever make it to manufacture. Typical solar panels have an average efficiency of 15%, with the best commercially available panels at 21%.
Yet we get a new announcement weekly.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Not much point in comparing the efficiency of an energy source with the efficiency of an energy sink; they're at the opposite ends of the energy cycle.
Unless you can use your solar-electric power immediately, you also need to add a whole conversion system for storage and discharge which can be quite lossy if you choose electrolysis for energy storage due to much higher energy density than batteries.
To make a fair comparison, you would need to pit two options with similar energy cycle against each other. Something like solar-hydrogen vs solar-biodiesel or solar-ethanol. Growing algae and converting it to biodiesel or ethanol to keep internal combustion engines running might be more efficient overall than electrolysis to produce hydrogen before converting that back to electricity to drive electric motors. Ethanol and biodiesel also have the benefits of well-established distribution channels while high-pressure hydrogen is still scary for many people.
I'm not including plug-in electric since everyone I know seem to be highly skeptical of their operating range and seriously worried about battery replacement costs that can quickly wipe out any fuel savings.
Why is it none of these ever make it to manufacture. Typical solar panels have an average efficiency of 15%, with the best commercially available panels at 21%.
Because as much as I look forward to someday powering my entire house with a handful of 90% efficient solar panels, I care a lot more about the cost per panel at present. If I can afford to pave a quarter acre with 10% efficient panels while these 40%+ ones would bankrupt me - Hey, guess which ones I'll just buy 4x as many of?
Two years ago I had 10 square metres of solar power put on my roof. Total cost: £15000 (~$20000). These cells have produced 3400 kW/H of electricity over that period. I don't live in the tropics; Latitude ~53 deg north.
Last point: Solar cell prices have fallen over 35% during the last 2 years.
Not phenominal but not irrelevant either