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SA solar research eclipses rest of the world
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SA solar research eclipses rest of the world |
| Willem Steenkamp
February 11 2006 at 12:50PM | |
In a scientific breakthrough that has stunned the world, a team of South African scientists has developed a revolutionary new, highly efficient solar power technology that will enable homes to obtain all their electricity from the sun.
This means high electricity bills and frequent power failures could soon be a thing of the past.
The unique South African-developed solar panels will make it possible for houses to become completely self-sufficient for energy supplies.
The panels are able to generate enough energy to run stoves, geysers, lights, TVs, fridges, computers - in short all the mod-cons of the modern house.
Nothing else comes close to the effectiveness of the SA invention |
The new technology should be available in South Africa within a year and through a special converter, energy can be fed directly into the wiring of existing houses. New powerful storage units will allow energy storage to meet demands even in winter. The panels are so efficient they can operate through a Cape Town winter. while direct sunlight is ideal for high-energy generation, other daytime light also generates energy via the panels.
A team of scientists led by University of Johannesburg (formerly Rand Afrikaans University ) scientist Professor Vivian Alberts achieved the breakthrough after 10 years of research. The South African technology has now been patented across the world.
One of the world leaders in solar energy, German company IFE Solar Systems, has invested more than R500-million in the South African invention and is set to manufacture 500 000 of the panels before the end of the year at a new plant in Germany.
Production will start next month and the factory will run 24 hours a day, producing more than 1 000 panels a day to meet expected demand.
Another large German solar company is negotiating with the South African inventors for rights to the technology, while a South African consortium of businesses are keen to build local factories.
The new, highly efficient and cheap alloy solar panel is much more efficient than the costly old silicone solar panels.
International experts have admitted that nothing else comes close to the effectiveness of the South African invention.
The South African solar panels consist of a thin layer of a unique metal alloy that converts light into energy. The photo-responsive alloy can operate on virtually all flexible surfaces, which means it could in future find a host of other applications.
Alberts said the new panels are approximately five microns thick (a human hair is 20 microns thick) while the older silicon panels are 350 microns thick. the cost of the South African technology is a fraction of the less effective silicone solar panels.
Alberts said in Switzerland it was already compulsory for all new houses to include solar technology to lessen energy demands on national grids.
"And that was the older, less effective technology. With our hours of sunlight, we will on average generate twice as much energy than, for instance, European countries."
While South African scientists developed and patented the new, super-effective alloy solar panels, other companies have developed new, super-efficient storage batteries and special converters to change the energy into the power source of a particular country (220 volts in South Africa ). · Eskom spokesperson Carin de Villiers said any new power supply that lessened the load on Eskom was to be welcomed.
She said Eskom was also doing its own research on solar energy.
"In fact, we are currently investigating building what will probably be the largest solar power plant, in the Northern Cape - a 100-megawatt facility."
She added that Eskom was also researching wind and fuel-cell technology as alternative energy sources. http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=vn20060211110132138C184427&set_id= |
Posted by bryan on Wednesday 13 September 2006 - 21:50:04
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Spray on solar cell
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p2pnet.net News:- A home with "smart" walls responsive to the environment in the room. A digital camera sensitive enough to work in the dark. Clothing able to turn sun-power into electrical energy, with all that implies. Those are just three of the applications researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada envision for an amazing infrared-sensitive material they’ve invented. At the moment, low-cost, large-area solar cells aren't efficient harvesters of solar power, says U of T professor Ted Sargent. However, "Our discovery gives access to the other half of the sun’s power - the infrared portion - previously unharnessed by plastic solar cells," he promises, stating that the new, wearable material can capture some 30%. "We made particles from semiconductor crystals which were exactly two, three or four nanometres in size,” he states. “The nanoparticles were so small they remained dispersed in everyday solvents just like the particles in paint. Then, they tuned the tiny nanocrystals to catch light at very long wavelengths. "The result - a sprayable infrared detector.” Existing technology allows solution-processible, light-sensitive materials that have made large, low-cost solar cells, displays, and sensors possible, but these materials have so far only worked in the visible light spectrum, he says. "These same functions are needed in the infrared for many imaging applications in the medical field and for fiber optic communications. “We have made the first infrared sensors (photodetectors) and power-converters (photovoltaics) based on solution-processing. Our materials resemble a paint: they are dispersed in a solvent and can be sprayed or otherwise coated onto other materials. The solvent evaporates, leaving a robust film which is the heart of our devices. “The technology is a proven way to manufacture large devices inexpensively.” U of T electrical and computer engineering graduate student Steve MacDonald carried out many of the experiments that produced the world's first solution-processed photovoltaic in the infrared. "The key was finding the right molecules to wrap around our nanoparticles," he says. "Too long and the particles couldn't deliver their electrical energy to our circuit; too short, and they clumped up, losing their nanoscale properties. It turned out that one nanometer - eight carbon atoms strung together in a chain - was 'just right'." Other members of the U of T research team are Gerasimos Konstantatos, Shiguo Zhang, Paul W. Cyr, Ethan J.D. Klem, and Larissa Lavina of electrical and computer engineering; Cyr is also with the Department of Chemistry. Sargent is the lead author in a January Nature Materials article reporting on the invention. (Wednesday 12th January 2005)
Submitted by Bryan
Posted by bryan on Thursday 13 January 2005 - 10:46:39
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