This week I am continuying my ten-month series based on articles I wrote for my Operations classes for my MBA at Presidio Graduate School. Hope you will like this series !
PV panels
Grid parity for solar PV is already here in 105 countries
I have already noted quite a few times in the past month that grid parity is slowly but surely approaching. What if it were already the case ? To the Applied Materials blog and REneweconomy it is already here in over a hundred countries. Yes, solar photovoltaic installed on rooftops is now cheaper than electricity … Read more
Graphene could bring solar PV efficiency to 60%
According to TreeHugger, graphene could offer 60% solar cell efficiency if it were to replace silicon in PV panels. As they note : ” Researchers from the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Spain have just published results from their experiments.”
” While their results so far will probably be more useful to make better image sensors, they still show promise for third-generation solar cells which could, in theory, reach efficiencies in the range of 60% (!),“
As current efficiency levels for commercial panels are below 20 percent, you can imagine the boost this could be to solar. As a matter of fact, when it will happen, it will bring a total paradigm shift.
Solar film increases efficiency by 300%
To CleanTechnica, a new film developed by HyperSolar, a Californian company, could halve the costs of solar panels and boost their efficiency by 300 percent. The film would replace the sheet of glass currently used with solar PV panels. “With HyperSolar as the top layer, manufacturers can use significantly fewer solar cells in the production … Read more
A solar energy boom in rural Asia
I really like the New York Times and its international edition, the International Herald Tribune. It gives a formidable insight on both today’s and tomorrow’s world. Today’s issue got two interesting articles.
Today’s first article that caught my attention was about a solar boom in Asia. Indeed, the demand for solar photovoltaic is due to explode in the near future as faraway villages are equipping themselves with such energy sources.
The market is particularly important in India where forty percent of people still do not have access to electricity (we are talking about nearly half a million people there).
Colored PV panels coming to a roof near you
Solar PV capacity is growing fast, and each year it is growing even faster. But when talking about solar with friends, some of them complain that the blue color is an hindrance as it looks out of place with red roofs.
This might change soon as Lof Solar, a solar company from Taiwan is launching solar panels with other colors, including red. Contrary to previous generations of colored panels these one aren’t suffering from efficiency losses.
Indeed their efficiency is of 15.4 %, which is similar to more traditional panels. In France and Europe, these panels are sold by E+ Color.