Solar power has seen a resurgence in research, and being my favorite power generation method, I’ve been following it closely. A basic (photovoltaic) solar power array is made up of several silicon solar panels that convert photons directly into electricity. The quality of a solar cell is usually based upon its efficiency, which measures how much absorbed sunlight is converted into electricity. Traditional solar cells have an efficiency of 12% to 18% and are fairly expensive. A residential solar installation might cost about 6 dollars per watt. The advantage is, after the installation is complete, every drop of energy from the system is free, possibly eliminating power bills forever. In some states, power companies pay customers for excess energy fed back into the grid. One caveat, during the night power must come either from batteries used to store excess energy during the day, or from the local power grid. In order to make solar a more viable alternative form of energy, efficiencies need to go up and cost needs to go down.
Thankfully, there have been a plethora of recent developments in solar technology:
Solar cells shaped like Popcorn balls and made of pigment zinc oxide grains show a 6.2% efficiency, continued progress could render traditional solar cells obsolete. Link
Extremely cheap nanowires may soon match traditional solar cell efficiencies, combining power with much more affordable production costs. Link
Printable solar panels dramatically reduce costs using the technology in your inkjet printer. They also allow solar cells to be produced outside a clean room environment and on virtually any surface. Link
Extensive solar arrays (280 megawatts) are going up in Arizona by 2011. Link
And, my very favorite concept, the space-based solar array. Various groups, including the Pentagon, have considered solving the world’s energy needs using a truly massive solar array orbiting the Earth. Power could be continually beamed down from the array in the form of microwaves or lasers. Advantages would include 24/7 solar input (no night), access to power in remote regions of the world, complete energy independence, and zero pollution/carbon emissions. Also, provided I get my hands on the controls, a giant ion/beam/laser cannon. And we all know how awesome that would be, right?
MY REIGN OF (solar) POWER BEGINS!
If you rule the world, can we still be friends? (I can hook you up with a laser, but not the kind you’re thinking of!)
solar power is also one of my favorite green technologies, especially since the advent of the new “printable” solar panes. Haveing solar powered roofing would not only be cool, but also shut up the people who complain about its lack of aesthetics (stupid reason to complain anyway). Also, solar power is a lot more environmentally friendly that other alternative energy resources like wind power, which would require us to tear up coastlines/mountaintops to install windmill arrays (kind of counterintuitive, i think since the end goal is to go green). And yes, while we could build giant death lazers form space, we should also consider how that would effect the long stagnent space race…think about it: person builds lazer, wee need anti lazer weapons, they need anti-anti lazer weapons, we need beter anti lazer weapons, etc…then we could expand and expand untill we fill up our galexy and cannot go any further…that is untill we stumble across a natural wormhole, stabilize it for travel, and – oh, what a minute, nevermind