| DOE: Solar Cells Just Hit 40% Efficiency! |
| Written by Hank Green | ||
| Thursday, 07 December 2006 | ||
 The Department of Energy has just confirmed that Boeing-Spectrolab has produced a solar cell that will convert sunlight to electricity at 40% efficiency. Boeing-Spectrolab has long been the leader in high-efficiency, high-cost solar panels. They've achieved 40% efficiency by using 'multijunction' solar cells that basically have several layers of photovoltaics, each one absorbing a different set of wavelengths of light.The bad news is that cheaper solar cells, while creating less electricity per unit of sunlight, create more electricity per unit of moola. So, while the DOE press release talks a lot about hoping this will usher in 3 cent per watt solar, the chances of that are really really unlikely. Applications in high-density solar industries (space, mostly) abound, but we might not see 40% efficiency on Earth for quite a long time.
Comments
(2)
NASA
written by Celia , December 15, 2006
Hasn't the space program always been ahead of the game anyway? I know this won't be popular. That's one thing the govenment is good for; being able to afford to be ahead of the game.
Solar collectors already a reality
written by D. Buice , April 15, 2007
Lenner Corp. is presently installing solar heating systems atop houses in Sanfrancisco that provide 40-60 percent of the energy needs of the home with solar collectors that cover only 200 sq feet of the roof of the house. Average cost of installation: $25,000. Payback to consumer: 11-15 years. Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution 4-6-07
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