Rarely do solar panels exceed 15% efficiency in the field but this  technology has achieved an astonishing 50% efficiency in the lab and 40% in the field.

Truly a significant breakthrough.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a32202373/solar-panel-record-efficiency/

 

Edited February 17, 20215 yr by martin-w

Sounds lovely, but hope it doesn't cost 3x as much.

Lifespan, weight, and $/kWh is all that is of interest on my roof.

Let`s hope they solve the recycling issue that no one has come up with it destroys the carbon neutral myth.   

3 hours ago, G-RFRY said:

Let`s hope they solve the recycling issue that no one has come up with it destroys the carbon neutral myth.   

 

Actually not true. We have solar panel recycling that recycles up to 96% of the cell.

5 hours ago, WingZ said:

Sounds lovely, but hope it doesn't cost 3x as much.

Lifespan, weight, and $/kWh is all that is of interest on my roof.

 

Yep, cost and weight are important. If its 50% efficient though it will be covering a smaller percentage of the roof for the same power generated, so weight shouldn't be an issue. For cost, they will certainly  be aiming to make the tech cost effective.

Lifespan is an interesting one. If we define that as not producing electricity at all, then the lifespan is 200 years. If we define it as power output dropping to 80% then its 25 - 30 years. In practice though, experience has shown that they often lose only 8% in 25 - 30  years.   

Edited February 18, 20215 yr by martin-w

Ask the some in aus the cost of energy has doubled in some states that have moved to solar. and as for life span they are already having to replace some.

 

Australia...

Quote

"Solar power is half the price it was 10 years ago. It’s even at a price point that the IEA never thought would be possible for at least 100 more years. What’s even more exciting (and interesting) is that it’s likely to become even cheaper."

 

https://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/how-solar-power-is-getting-even-cheaper-in-australia/

 

https://theconversation.com/up-to-90-of-electricity-from-solar-and-wind-the-cheapest-option-by-2030-csiro-analysis-151831

 

Stick em on your roof. Generate your own power. 

 

As for replacing...

 

Quote

"The latest solar panel models on the market have an expected lifespan of 40-50 years, and warranties that will keep them protected for at least half of that time"

 

https://www.renewableenergyhub.co.uk/main/solar-panels/how-long-do-solar-panels-last/

 

Shame you had to divert this thread into an anti solar panel direction. It wasn't even about the current technology it was about the new technology.

 

 

Edited February 18, 20215 yr by martin-w

16-26 years to break even on solar panels install Martin Lewis that have a 10 year warranty and the gov are to cut the subsidy. No windfarms would be built without the subsidy they get paid if they make power or not, California has the biggest use of wind and solar in the US suffers power cuts on a regular basis and the sun shines there.    

Quote

16-26 years to break even on solar panels

 

No, national average payback in the UK is 9.7 years.

 

Quote

No windfarms would be built without the subsidy

 

The topic is about new advances in solar panel technology, not wind power. However, the subsidies received by wind power are a pittance compared to the $5.2 trillion dollars spent on fossil fuel subsidies every year.

 

Furthermore... 

 

Quote

However, the most recently approved offshore wind projects will most likely operate with ‘negative subsidies’ – paying money back to the government.

 

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/200353/offshore-wind-power-cheap-could-money/

 

Quote

California has the biggest use of wind and solar in the US suffers power cuts on a regular basis and the sun shines there.

 

See below...

Why renewables aren’t to blame for California’s blackouts

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/why-renewables-arent-reason-california-blackouts

 

 

Again... this topic is about the new technology that renders photovoltaic cells 50% efficient. A significant breakthrough. However, you seem intent on converting this topic into an opportunity to bash renewable energy. The topic isn't about wind power and its not about our current photovoltaic technology or subsides. 

Edited February 19, 20215 yr by martin-w

Hopefully we can all agree that renewable energy is a Good Thing.

Wind power - a great idea.

Solar power - a great idea. Now 50% efficient - superb news.

However there is still a need for a reliable back up source for when the wind doesn't blow and the clouds gather, despite advances in efficiency. Would banks of storage capacitors or batteries on an industrial scale be enough to take up the shortfall I wonder? Is there enough precious metal to go around to make up such large scale battery banks?

California didn't get that reliable backup for the blackouts because for some reason the natural gas power plants were tripped out or not available, according to the article Martin linked to. So yes the renewables were not to blame, but the existing non-renewable generation infrastructure needs investigating as to why it couldn't step up. Apparently this was before California got to the usage threshold for planned blackouts (where demand WILL definitely outstrip supply and the companies know about it, hence planned blackout).

A couple of molten salt reactors would ensure Gigawatts of power output... yes, a great deal of money spent in one or two locations, but still useful surely? And not fossil fuelled...

The village where I live has no gas supply, only electricity. Once the power's out there's no alternative for hot water, heat or light, however the national grid (or landlords) don't like citizens wiring in backup generators (diesel or petrol ironically) even if a qualified electrician were to undertake the job.

29 minutes ago, HighBypass said:

 

However there is still a need for a reliable back up source for when the wind doesn't blow and the clouds gather, despite advances in efficiency. Would banks of storage capacitors or batteries on an industrial scale be enough to take up the shortfall I wonder? Is there enough precious metal to go around to make up such large scale battery banks?

 

 

Yep, its already happening. There's Elon's batteries being used in Australia, and all across the UK grid scale battery backup is being installed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-42190358

https://theconversation.com/the-uk-plans-to-build-huge-batteries-to-store-renewable-energy-but-theres-a-much-cheaper-solution-143053

https://www.energy-storage.news/news/uks-largest-battery-storage-project-at-320mw-gets-go-ahead-from-government

Then we have liquid air batteries of course that show great promise.

https://grist.org/energy/construction-begins-on-the-worlds-biggest-liquid-air-battery/

Capacitors are different to batteries of course, in that they charge rapidly and discharge rapidly. For energy storage we need slow discharge. There's a lot of research going into ultra capacitors though. In fact there's a company called Kilowatt Labs that say they have a supercapacitor that can charge rapidly, discharge slowly and has the same formfactor as lithium ion.

Then  we have other technology that can help too, like flywheel energy storage.

https://www.energydigital.com/smart-energy/worlds-largest-flywheel-energy-storage-system

It's something that's being researched and many of the technologies are coming online. 

For home solar panel installations of course we have the Tesla Powerwall. And indeed other companies make similar backup batteries. With a Powerwall, the energy you aren't using on a sunny day doesn't get wasted and is used at night or when the sun hides behind clouds. In fact. if you have an electric car the "smart grid" enables you to use your car battery in a similar way.

Numerous technologies are available to be honest. We are at that stage of technological development were there are quite a few options. In time I guess there will be a few of the most efficient used depending on the requirements. 

 

 

 

Edited February 19, 20215 yr by martin-w

32 minutes ago, HighBypass said:

 

A couple of molten salt reactors would ensure Gigawatts of power output... yes, a great deal of money spent in one or two locations, but still useful surely? And not fossil fuelled...

 

 

Molten salt reactors aren't ready yet though. Its going to be many years before they are available. Still plenty of negatives. Given how long it will take to perfect the technology and how long it takes to commission a reactor, we'll probably have Nuclear Fusion by then. 

Some of the smaller companies like General Fusion will probably be providing us with fusion before ITER is generating more power than it will consume. 

https://generalfusion.com/technology-magnetized-target-fusion/

I like their piston approach. Its almost like an internal FUSION combustion engine. 😀

 

Edited February 19, 20215 yr by martin-w

It’s obviously Good News that there is ongoing work to make solar cells better.

But the numbers are not real-world. The 50% efficiency quoted is predicted in the lab under ideal conditions and has not been achieved.

There are coal-fired power stations running at 50% efficiency today. (This not to plump for coal as a fuel, merely as a basis of comparison.)

Fusion is where it’s at for sure. Solar power is nothing more than the distant and miniscule capture of remote fusion reactions. Strangely, on planet earth the Big News fusion projects do the atomic nucleus thing – and then dump the output into Rankine Cycle machinery that dates back 150 years!

 “My” fusion power plant fits on the back of a truck, and pushes out its electrons from a solid state process with no whirring bits. It is failsafe and benign, and can be used for distributed electricity generation, both permanent and emergency.

Thank you Bill Gates.
There may be a Tesla Powerwall involved. 😊   

13 hours ago, WingZ said:

It’s obviously Good News that there is ongoing work to make solar cells better.

But the numbers are not real-world. The 50% efficiency quoted is predicted in the lab under ideal conditions 

 

Yes, as I said in my first post, 50% in the lab and 40% in the field.

Reductions of the series resistance within the structure could result in efficiencies over 50% they estimate. 

Perovskite of course is the current big thing. A company in Oxford UK will be selling cells coated in Perovskite this year. Their cells will generate 30% more electricity than current cells. 

Edited February 20, 20215 yr by martin-w

I encourage everyone to watch the documentary film Planet of the Humans produced by Jeff Gibbs, a lifelong environmentalist, and Michael Moore.  It's free and available on YouTube.

It exposes the truth about "green" energy.

It's a real eye opener.

Dave