Holographic SolarA novel approach to concentrating sunlight could cut solar panel costs.
The main limitation of solar power right now is cost, because the crystalline silicon used to make most solar photovoltaic (PV) cells is very expensive. One approach to overcoming this cost factor is to concentrate light from the sun using mirrors or lenses, thereby reducing the total area of silicon needed to produce a given amount of electricity. But traditional light concentrators are bulky and unattractive -- less than ideal for use on suburban rooftops.
Now Prism Solar Technologies of Stone Ridge, NY, has developed a proof-of-concept solar module that uses holograms to concentrate light, possibly cutting the cost of solar modules by as much as 75 percent, making them competitive with electricity generated from fossil fuels. The new technology replaces unsightly concentrators with sleek flat panels laminated with holograms. The panels, says Rick Lewandowski, the company's president and CEO, are a "more elegant solution" to traditional concentrators, and can be installed on rooftops -- or even incorporated into windows and glass doors. The system needs 25 to 85 percent less silicon than a crystalline silicon panel of comparable wattage, Lewandowski says, because the photovoltaic material need not cover the entire surface of a solar panel. Instead, the PV material is arranged in several rows. A layer of holograms -- laser-created patterns that diffract light -- directs light into a layer of glass where it continues to reflect off the inside surface of the glass until it finds its way to one of the strips of PV silicon. Reducing the PV material needed could bring down costs from about $4 per watt to $1.50 for crystalline silicon panels, he says. The company is expecting to pull in another $6 million from interested venture capitalists and start manufacturing its first-generation modules by the end of the year, selling them at about $2.40 per watt. Next-generation modules with more advanced technology should bring down the cost further. In their ability to concentrate light, holograms are not as powerful as conventional concentrators. They can multiply the amount of light falling on the cells only by as much as a factor of 10, whereas lens-based systems can increase light by a factor of 100, and some even up to 1,000.
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How To Build a Solar Generator
07/14/2006
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Comments
04/25/2006
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:-) Dan.
http://dan.3-e.net
04/26/2006
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07/13/2006
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Maybe there is a process similar to bullet resistant glass that could be applied a 1/2 inch or so above the actual panel to reduce or eliminate the shock of the hail directly against the panel and to try to eliminate any deflection of the sun's rays.
By placing this bullet resistant like glass or plastic 1/2 inch or so away from panel would allow you to replace any cracked or damaged shields without having to replace the precious panel itself.
Coreyjacob
08/14/2007
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A module or panel is to be subjected to a 5 ft-lb (6.78 J) impact normal to the surface resulting from a 2-in (51-mm) diameter smooth steel sphere weighing 1.18 lb (535 g) falling through a distance of 51 in (1.295 m). The module or panel is to be struck at any point considered most vulnerable.
The pass criteria is that there shall be no accessible live parts, and breakage of the front material is acceptable provided there are no particles larger than 1 square in (6.5 cm2) released from their normal mounting position.
04/27/2006
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Think about it...
Do you really think the Power companies - or for that matter - the Govt - would like for us to be free of the grid ??
The power companies want our money
The Govt wants to control us.
Working Together they both get what they want...
That is why there is no REAL tech breakthroughs in eletrical energy generation. That tech gets squashed.
04/25/2006
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Are you telling me they don't use this in geothermal area's in the US?
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> or for that matter - the Govt - would like for
> us to be free of the grid ??
Of course! Geez, you think they LIKE paying millions on millions of dollars to deliver a product to your house, and not make a penny doing it?! Reducing delivery costs improves their bottom line, trust me, if they could get people off the grid, they'd do it. It's not like you'd stop buying the product, after all, you drive TO the gas station to get their product.
> The Govt wants to control us.
I hope your tin foil helmet is in good working condition. Meanwhile for those of us who live on planet Earth, buying a few compact florescent lights is something that actually helps.
Maury
04/26/2006
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It must be a conspiracy by The Man to keep us down somehow.
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One could argue that hydrogen should be easy to come by, as we have an ocean full of it. Unfortunately, like silicon, it has already combined with oxygen.
04/25/2006
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If the panels are not recyclable, then its not renewable. Eventually you will run out of a particular resource needed to produce them. Thus making the sun's renewable energy is mute. For the whole process is as strong as the weakest link.
Coreyjacob
08/14/2007
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Silicon for solar cells (and semiconductors) is currently very expensive for two reasons. First as noted, it needs to be very high purity. Second is simply supply and demand. Silicon demand has skyrocketed as PV has taken off. Sometime this year, the PV industry will be using more silicon than the rest of the semiconductor industry behind. This took polysilicon manufacturers by surprise. Polysilcion plants are capital intensive and take a couple of years to come on line. So, right now there is a shortage. Most likely, as plants come online over the next coupel of years, there will be overcapacity for a while and prices for polysilicon will fall dramatically.
04/26/2006
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http://solarbuzz.com/
04/27/2006
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Genesis
11/11/2008
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If you could some how minimize or eliminate the aluminum for example then the payback for energy will be shorter in that its less energy intensive to produce. The key is finding less energy intensive and renewable process to make it sustainable in the end. Through minimizing resource + recycling
Coreyjacob
08/14/2007
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Genesis
11/11/2008
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http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/silicon.html
http://www.eere.energy.gov/RE/solar_photovoltaics.html
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The energy required to produce a modern solar energy system is earned back in less than three years (at mid Northern latitudes). The technology develops continuously and the energy pay back time keeps being reduced.
04/27/2006
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No doubt --
Altho I dont mind that it is written for a layperson to understand...
I would appreciate it, if they would explain some of the "magic" that makes this work tech... ;)
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Coreyjacob
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I'm no expert or professional in this field (i.e. I'm a layperson), but that explination is enough for me to understand the concept and be able to recreate their work.
The holigram isn't directly focusing the light like a lens would, rather, concentration occures by accumulation within the pane of glass. The light diffracted by the holigram will enter the glass at a sharp angle, enough so that it will stay inside the pane like light in a fiber optic cable.
Note that not all the light is diffracted by the holigram, and even then only some will actually stay inside the glass.
Reduced cost per watt is great, but I wonder what kind of area efficiency they get with this.
04/25/2006
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rainbow transmission holograms are formed as surface relief patterns in a plastic film, and they incorporate a reflective aluminum coating which provides the light from "behind" to reconstruct their imagery. Another kind of common hologram (a Denisyuk hologram) is the true "white-light reflection hologram" which is made in such a way that the image is reconstructed naturally using light on the same side of the hologram as the viewer.
But because you can layer holograms, and each one can be at a slightly different angle (incorrect wavelength, or angle just goes straight through), then you can have 100 different angles on top of each other, all pointing to the receptor at the side. Kind of like a mirror in a telescope.
Hope this help:) -isabelle
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2. Most plastics degrade quickly in direct sunlight.
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OK - who is for reducing purity requirements or improving the manufacturing process for raw silicon.....
05/11/2006
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I don't wait for cheaper tech, I put my grid tied system in back in 2001 before incentives or even net-metering. I just added 4 evergreen panels in 2006 and love them.
Most panels today have warrenties for 25 years, don't use water or make pollution. They are cheap at $4 a watt, with incentive they are a steal.
jstack6
09/01/2007
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