Oil and water solar power

One main topic of this blog concerns energy and the issues facing our modern society. In a previous post, the real future energy crisis, I discuss how coal could supply the US electricity demand for the next 200 years. The downside to using coal are air pollution and the destructive effects of coal mining. This post will investigate a recent solar cell development that is promising and put it into context with the current overall solar power picture.

First of all, I am going to mention a few facts about solar power without giving citations giving an overall general view of the solar industry.

1. Solar power is relatively new in large scale implementation. It has been used in niche applications for decades, but using the technology for large scale applications is still experimental.

2. Solar power is truly an environmentally less destructive alternative in comparison to all fossil fuels generation methods.

3. Solar power is not a very dense energy source. If we put solar plants covering every square inch of available land and on top of roofs, we still would not have our energy demands satisfied.

4. Finally, solar systems do not generate energy consistently around the clock. The sun sets and generation stops. On cloudy days, the amount of electricity generated also drops significantly.

5. Even when solar systems are generating electricity using current technology, the cost per unit is significantly higher than all other traditional forms of generation including fossil fuel, hydroelectric and nuclear based systems.

Here is my beef with solar power, the amount of money and effort that a society would pour into solar power would not be beneficial with the current solar technology. No current technology commercially available (Si solar cells, thin film or concentrators) has high energy yield at low cost. The price per kiloWatt is significantly higher than conventional electricity production. Large scale solar implementation will end up bankrupting us, while failing to achieve our energy goals. For solar to be viable, the overall manufacturing and system construction costs will have to drop significantly. Construction is a fixed cost, but manufacturing could be significantly reduced. The only way to achieve a significant reduction in solar cost would be through the research and development of new solar technology resulting in high yield, low cost solar energy process.

One interesting solar technical development comes from the University of Minnesota with self-assembled solar cells. The BBC reports that researchers have used self-assembly to organize Si onto a substrate patterned with Au for electrical connections. Self-assembly is a process that uses hydrophilic (water compatible) and hydrophobic (water incompatible) substances like vinegar and oil. The two are immiscible with each other separating upon mixing. In the case of self-assembly, separates into desired patterns or configurations. It appears as if the scientists have devised a way to self-assemble working solar cells. One technical advantage is mentioned in the article.

"Self-assembly is probably the best method for integrating high-performance materials onto unconventional substrates," he told BBC News.

The method tackles what Dr Parviz said is the most challenging problem - the proper alignment of thousands of parts, each thinner than a human hair. But it also works with the highest-performance materials, he said.

"For example, this method allows one to use single-crystal silicon, which is far superior to other types of silicon for making solar cells."

High yield devices could be produced with greater electrical conversion than current Si solar cells. The other advantage comes from low cost substrates significantly reducing the overall manufacturing cost. Further development of this idea would result in a high yield, low cost solar system. Before we start dumping money into the professor's group, the article only briefly touches upon the amount of development before a final manufactured product will come to market. It will be years. Investing in that kind of development would be a good investment in our energy future.