Breakthroughs in Green Energy Tech 2009 - Part 1, Solar | .....Aaron's EnvironMental Corner.....

Breakthroughs in Green Energy Tech 2009 – Part 1, Solar

Filed Under: Green Technology on December 19, 2009

There’s a lot of great stuff going on in fields related to energy. From solar panels to bio-fuels and from hydrogen fuel cells to full-spectrum petroleum replacements, there is a ton of awesome technology coming forward to give us a less polluting, more sustainable way to power our everyday lives. At no time in known human history has technology been so abundant and promising.

I’ve covered a lot of these breakthroughs and promising new ideas here since the blog’s creation, but I thought a nice run-down of the greatest stuff to come would be a great way to wrap up 2009. In part one, we’ll look at solar panels, specifically solar photovoltaics (electricity generation).

Most people just think of “solar panels” when they really mean making power from the sun. The term “solar panel” is a lot broader than just the idea of gathering sunlight to make electricity (photovoltaics). Regardless, solar power has been around for a long time. The picture at right, in fact, was when Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the roof of the White House in the 1970s. They’ve come a long way since then.

I covered several new roofing techs emerging right now back in October, with a great new light-gathering tech for use with solar panels that use colored glass to improve the efficiency. Just a couple of days ago, I also showed you a new nano-technology for keeping glass cleaner, improving PV efficiency.

How about solar panels that work at night? Sunlight making electricity at night? Hey, anything’s possible. These panels actually soak up infrared heat, which lasts much longer than the sun’s daily traverse through the sky.

In fact, the cost of solar PVs are coming down drastically. The most expensive component of solar power collection is the silicon needed to coat the photovoltaic cells so they’ll generate electricity. A lot of research is focused on lowering the amount or eliminating altogether the silicon used. One promising tech for removing it entirely is being worked on by Mitsubishi, which I covered in July.

And last, but not least, of course, what good are solar panels if they make your house look ugly? Exactly. Well, there are people working on that too. In July, I showed you one line of that research that is now available on the market.

Yep, solar power generation has come a long way. In fact, I skipped the entire large-scale production of electrical generation from solar sources. Maybe I’ll cover that in the next segment of this series. :)