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Breaking the light barrier
December 6, 2006
When it comes to solar power, there is no downside to getting too much sun.
The poor efficiency of today’s photovoltaic solar panels means only between 8 and 20 per cent of the sun’s energy is converted into electricity.
That’s what makes an announcement by the US Department of Energy so significant. A DoE-funded concentrator solar cell has broken the 40 per cent efficiency barrier for the first time.
Produced by Boeing-Spectrolab, the cell achieved a world-record 40.7 per cent conversion efficiency through a system of layers that capture more of the sun’s spectrum.
The DoE says this could cut installation costs to $3 per watt and produce electricity at a cost of 8 to 10 cents per kilowatt-hour (a coal-fired power station produces at about 4 cents per kw-hour).
There is the usual lively discussion on Slashdot, and Applied Materials should take note. The Silicon Valley equipment maker recently announced a strategy aimed at reducing solar costs by two-thirds.
Chris Nuttall, San Francisco
