New solar cells could make solar power mass-market inexpensive

Wed, 2011-12-28 05:11 — marcoU

In spite of major advancements in technology, renewable power remains more costly than fossil fuels. A brand new solar cell could be able to change that, but trade disputes could keep it off the industry. Resource for this article: New solar cells could make solar power mass-market cheap

Causes efficiency

By capturing heat from photovoltaic cells, plastic semiconductors produced by the National Renewable power Laboratory are much more efficient than previous solar panels. These solar cells create more energy with fewer cells, reducing the cost drastically. The process allows an increase in theoretical efficiency of a solar cell from 31 percent to 66 percent. That is a huge increase from what current commercial cells give off.

Balancing renewable power

The cost of renewable power has always been of great concern for individuals attempting to get solar power to be more widely adopted. Solar cells could be very expensive, and the relatively low efficiency has made them even more expensive. Homeowners who install solar cell systems on their homes can expect to earn the cost back over 15 to 25 years. On a larger scale, power businesses can install solar energy with government subsidies, however they are often prohibitively expensive.

Possible US tariff

The United States government started looking into Chinese solar cell parts having tariffs on them. This is being considered due to the subsidies China has on all of its solar equipment and solar panels. The United States does not think it is fair to the rest of the world for China to have these subsidies. This is in spite of the fact that the U.S. also has subsidies on clean energy sources, which China has been quick to point out. Due to this dispute, the solar panel cells could not really be as cheap as expected. The prices could go up drastically. If the tariffs were not being considered, the solar panels would be less expensive than fossil fuels.

Sources

TG Daily: http://www.tgdaily.com/sustainability-features/60289-solar-cell-could-be...

PC World: http://www.pcworld.com/article/246690/solar_energy_reaches_a_new_efficie...

MIT Tech Review: http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/39330/?p1=MstRcnt

The Register: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/12/19/pentacen_quantum_solar_cells/

National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2010/11/101105-cost-of-so...