Our new President Elect has promised a new green economy.  That’s great except solar panels, a part of any green economy, are expensive and inefficient.  Current solar panels can only harvest two thirds of the sun’s energy, and what energy can be absorbed has to come from the right angle.

Researchers at New York’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new anti-reflective nano-coating that allows solar cells to absorb 96 percent of the sun’s light from any angle.  This is great news for those who can afford such things, but what does it really mean for the rest of us.

The new coating, which involves seven different nano-layers of anti-reflective material attached to a silicon substrate, is said to work with about any photovoltaic material used in solar cells.  Terrific. But will the new coating require costly retooling of the manufacturing process?  If so, don’t look for it anytime soon.

Ultimately, this new coating sounds as if more energy can be gathered with fewer solar panels and less equipment.  The mirror reflectors currently used to concentrate sun light onto solar panels won’t be necessary.  The mechanical arrays used to position solar panels at the correct angle for maximum absorption (currently only 67 percent) won’t be necessary either.

Cutting the number of solar panels needed along with any additional equipment means less cost to the consumer whether it is a homeowner or a utility company.  Although Congress renewed rebates for green energy purchases, if you can’t afford the upfront costs, you can’t get to the rebate.

Although the scientists at Rennselaer say that the coating works on about any photovoltaic material, does that mean that it will work with the new processes that can mass produce photovoltaic cells on plastic?  If so, solar power will become even more affordable, wearable, and powerful.

This new coating sounds like the answer to most of the problems with solar power, but it all depends on how quickly this process can make it out of the research lab and into the manufacturing process.

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Entry was posted on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 at 12:56 pm under Green Technology, Science and technology, Technology.

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