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TR: The cells can also be made on a flexible foil. Could we see them on tents, or built into clothing to charge iPods?
MG: Absolutely. Konarka has a program with the military to have cells built into uniforms. You can imagine why. The soldier has so much electrical gear and so they want to boost their batteries. Batteries are a huge problem--the weight--and batteries cost a huge amount of money.
Konarka has just announced a 20-megawatt facility for a foil-backed, dye-sensitized solar cell. This would still be for roofs. But there is a military application for tents, and Konarka is participating in that program.
TR: When are we going to be able to buy your cells?
MG: I expect in the next couple of years. The production equipment is already there. Konarka has a production line that can make up to one megawatt [of photovoltaic capacity per year].
TR: How does the efficiency of these production cells compare with conventional silicon?
MG: With regard to the dye-cells, silicon has a much higher efficiency; it's about twice [as much]. But when it comes to real pickup of solar power, our cell has two advantages: it picks up [light] earlier in the morning and later in the evening. And also the temperature effect isn't there--our cell is as efficient at 65 degrees [Celsius] as it is at 25 degrees, and silicon loses about 20 percent, at least.
If you put all of this together, silicon still has an advantage, but maybe a 20 or 30 percent advantage, not a factor of two.
TR: The main advantage of your cells is cost?
MG: A factor of 4 or 5 [lower cost than silicon] is realistic. If it's building integrated, you get additional advantages because, say you have glass, and replace it [with our cells], you would have had the glass cost anyway.
TR: How close is that to being competitive with electricity from fossil fuels?
MG: People say you should be down to 50 cents per peak watt. Our cost could be a little bit less than one dollar manufactured in China. But it depends on where you put your solar cells. If you put them in regions where you have a lot of sunshine, then the equation becomes different: you get faster payback.
An advanced dye boosts the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells.
Improved dyes and electrolytes could make the Grätzel solar-cell design more practical.
This is great news! I'm totally solar today with a 4.1kw system. The cost was large but worth it. Hopefully this will bring the cost down significantly. I've got plenty of room if they need someone to try the product in a real life setting!
I am in total agreement with you. I think solar is making leaps and bounds (that sound kind of funny when I write it)but I think the advances are fantastic and just in time. Global Warming is really scary, especially when it comes to my kids!
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janakiblum
3 Comments
Nice, but will it really make a difference?
The advances in solar energy are exhilarating for the rest of us, but I wonder if the present political administration in the USA would take notice, now that oil companies have allegedly found new oil fields offshore near New Orleans.
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lund1967
8 Comments
Re: Nice, but will it really make a difference?
What does the government have to do with this? It sounds like making cheap solar cells would make it easier for businesses, both big and small, to be able to cut costs by using solar power.
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dbreneman
2 Comments
Re: Nice, but will it really make a difference?
I guess people are so used to seeing alternative energy sources as costly and inefficient that they just reflexively assume that such energy systems must be forced on the people by the government. :-)
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morris
1 Comment
Re: Nice, but will it really make a difference?
Actually most of us get started with PV as a two part process. The first step is putting the receptacle/lighting house circuits on a battery/inverter/battery charger system. This is done so that when the utility power goes away (either by storm, car hitting a pole, utility overload, etc.) you keep your lights, TV, fans (in the summer) all up and working. Second step is: as the cost of PV comes down, you start to add panels. (OK, so you jump the gun like I did and put the panels on at $5/watt) but they need to be around $1/watt to be cost effective without any incentives which is where we should have been a long time ago. (Boy do I have stories to tell about DOE - getting all us high-brows laid-off).
Its great when the neighbors come over and ask why we have the only house for miles around that has lights (I turn on all the lights and light up the house up like a power plant) My average outage time is four hours - in the middle of town!
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thegreenbuilder
1 Comment
Re: Nice, but will it really make a difference?
Are you serious????
"What does the government have to do with this?"
I find it hard to believe anyone in the renewable energy field or sustaianable design field would ask such a naive question.
Government, especially United States government, has it's hands on the wheel...and has for at least the last 120 years...ever since the industrial revolution, really.
So if we REALLY want this technology to be a success, we must VOTE with our DOLLARS. We must support the supply/demand cycle while simultaneously VOTE to get the right people in office and KEEP THEM THERE. It's really a very complex issue.
We know it's not as simple as providing a breakthru technology...it's not as simple as voting the right member of Congress to office...it's not living in the right State with the right incentives...it's not teaching our children that fossil fuel consumption is ANTIQUATED and BAD....it's all those together and more.
I for one applaud this new NANOTECH solar...it sounds good on paper....I hope it makes it thru the gauntlet that is "Modern America"
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