The Chinese Solar Machine Layer by Layer Fire in the Library The Mystery Behind Anesthesia
Stripped-down solar: By cutting silicon solar cells into strips (left) and using molded plastic (right) to funnel light to them, Solaria is able to cut the cost of its solar panels.
Solaria
A California startup is cutting by half the amount of costly silicon used in solar panels.
Solaria, a startup based in Fremont, CA, intends to cut the cost of solar panels by decreasing the amount of expensive material required. It has recently started shipping its first panels to select customers. This spring the company will begin production of solar panels at a factory built to produce 25 megawatts of solar panels per year.
Current high costs for the type of silicon used in photovoltaics have significantly driven up the price of conventional solar panels. Solaria's cells generate about 90% of a conventional solar panel's power, while using half as much silicon, says Kevin Gibson, Solaria's CTO.
Ordinarily, the silicon in a solar panel spans its surface, collecting light from as much area as possible. But Solaria slices the silicon into thin strips and spaces them apart so that they only account for about half the panel's area. A clear molded plastic cover collects light from the entire panel and funnels it to the strips of silicon.
This approach saves money because the total costs of the molded plastic, other extra materials, and added manufacturing steps still are lower than the cost of the additional silicon used in conventional solar panels. Solaria also reduces costs by using manufacturing equipment already developed for the semiconductor industry, thus avoiding expensive customized equipment. Gibson says Solaria's first products will be economical enough to compete with panels produced by much larger companies, and that successive product generations will cost between 10 and 30 percent less than their competitors.
Silicon prices are high now. But the element is abundant, and already new facilities are coming on-line to produce more refined silicon. For Solaria is to be competitive in the long run, it will need to implement other cost-saving measures, especially improving the overall efficiency of its solar panels, says Tonio Buonassisi, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT.
Such improvements are possible, Gibson says. For example, in conventional solar cells, wires for collecting current are placed on top of the cell, where they block some of the incoming sunlight. Solaria could place its wires between the strips of silicon, where they block no light. Because the wires wouldn't need to be made thin to avoid blocking light, they could be sized to collect electricity more efficiently.
Sounds similar to the Sliver Cells invention. Sliver Cells use even less silicon, about 8x less or so, although the micro machining may be more expensive.
Ah yes, sorry I was too lazy to click through the link ;)
The commercial development around the Sliver Cell technology has been slow. What's wrong?
At 12:20 PM I see 11.35 milli watts from a 1 foot square silicon solar panel. It is facing south and perficly vertical on a cloudy day. I am testing it for Unicom to see if it is practacal to power equipment in this lat. I have seen and recorded 265.21 milli watts on a sunny day last week. The load is a deep cycle boat battery 750 amp. I would need better tech to power my home.
I installed a 4.4 kw system in may ,2002
my rebate in california was $4.50 per watt or $18,000 plus a $3000 credit on state taxes.
out of pocket was $15,000. my average monthly bill $100- $125 or roughly $1500 a year.so in 10 years its paid for. actually its less time ...tiered priceing up to 30 or 40 cents per kwh .plus rate increases,projected at 12 % in 2009 at sce.
also most new contracts will be renewables such as wind or sterling engine and the utility is allowed to recover some costs..more expensive than coal but clean.........as a result prices go up and I recover my costs at a faster rate,now I have free electricity in lets say 6 or 7 years.......
so forget about waiting..the rebate has changed now $2.90 in ca but in texas its $ 4.50...
now is the time............
Manufacturing in the United States is in trouble. That's bad news not just for the country's economy but for the future of innovation.
DJTal
154 Comments
Old news .
I guess new stories about solar must be a bit thin on the ground , maybe something to do with there not being much sun around at this time of year .
Also isn't it amazing how much diversity of design is encouraged in the solar industry , but when it comes to wind power everyone is obsessed with horizontal axis turbines . What about vertical axis turbines , sure they have a lower thoeretical efficiency but they are still interesting and have their advantages . SRC Vertical of Russia have come up with some intersting new designs of vertical axis turbine .
Reply