Breakthrough In Solar Cell Technology Produces A Thousand Times More Power
Could this innovation revolutionise solar energy?
Solar energy is currently leading the push for renewable energy, and it is easy to see why. Solar panels are easy to install, are dirt cheap and last for decades. But they aren’t without their drawbacks. To make a single panel takes a vast amount of energy, and in the process, it emits heaps of carbon emissions and deadly toxic byproducts. But a recent breakthrough could change that by making an unused solar technology far more powerful. But is this enough to make solar the ultimate clean energy?
Our current solar panel technology is silicon-based. Thes panels have been mostly unchanged since their first inception in the 80s, with some upgrades in efficiency along the way, allowing them to be around 15% efficient today. But the real evolution over the decades has been the cost. Back in the day, solar panels, and therefore power, would cost orders of magnitude more than fossil fuels. But now, the price per panel has dropped dramatically to the point where it is the cheapest form of energy available. This is why solar power is the fastest-growing low-carbon energy source.
But silicon is a complex material to work with. It takes a lot of energy, catalysts and wastage to make each one. In…
