(Image Credit: Solar Knowledge)
Big Solar News This Week:
- 10 hours of solar “storage” now possible at CSP facility
- Solar startup achieves 34% efficiency
- Dark silicon found to boost efficiency
- Stanford team adapts “whisper” technologies to improve solar efficiency
The last week has seen a number of positive strides for the solar power industry, ranging from technological improvements to announcements of new projects coming online. As solar technology continues to improve, industry will be more ready to jump into investing in solar. And one of the more exciting announcements this week is the major leap in efficiency achieved by Semprius. Stealing the show, though, was the major project in Nevada announcing completion of a major portion of their project.
Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project
(Image Credit: RPN)
The U.S. is leading the way in two major areas of solar energy research with a single project based out of Tonopah, Nevada. The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, managed by SolarReserve, is a concentrating solar power (CSP) design that also uses new technology to store energy for use during the night – a huge leap in solving the intermittent power problem associated with solar energy.
First of all, the Crescent Dunes facility includes a large tower that rotates throughout the day to focus the sun’s rays onto a field of 10,000 panels. This gives it the ability to collect energy for 10-15 hours per day, depending upon the season.
But what makes this project even more special is the ability to store excess energy. The design incorporates liquid salt which is heated to around 1,050 degrees Fahrenheit. The heated salt can be used at night to create steam and power turbines for up to 10 hours. For parts of the year, the Crescent Dunes facility will be able to power up to 75,000 homes 24 hours day.
Major Efficiency Achievements
(Image Credit: Semprius)
Another big development this week is in the arena of efficiency. One of the reoccurring themes when it comes to solar energy discussions is the lack of efficiency of solar panels. To overcome this issue, you typically have to take up a lot of real-estate which also means larger (more expensive) systems. If panels could be made to be more efficient, the cost per square inch drops and the space needed to power a home, as an example, becomes much more manageable.
A startup solar panel manufacturer called Semprius announced a commercially available design that now reaches an amazing 33.9% efficiency. The previous record for commercial designs was 32%, but that technology was far too expensive to be practical. The Semprius design is ready to go with a factory rolling out these latest panels as early as Fall 2012.
Dark Silicon and Nanotech Improves Efficiency
(Image Credit: CleanTechnica)
While not as exciting as the Semprius announcement, Stanford found a way to improve efficiency by 1% while decreasing costs by 1-3% using black silicon. This may not seem like a big help, but these small improvements go a long way when you add them together.
And another group of Stanford engineers found a way to use nanocrystalline-silicon to “trap” light that might otherwise have reflected away from the surface of a solar panel. This concept was adapted from whisper chambers. The film-like substance can help trap the light regardless of angle, making it ideal for placement on a layer of solar panels. Light absorption in the important spectrum ranges for solar power production is as high as 75%.
Ultimately, small improvements are the name of the game. While break-through discoveries sure help, the gradual improvements and reductions in cost are going to be what help draw investors into the market and researchers into the field. The next few months continue to bring the hope of solar power seeing an increased role in the U.S. for eliminating foreign fossil fuel dependency.
