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Dominic DeMicco

Professor Lisa Gades

IDS 302

4/25/2016

A Glimpse into Future of Solar Technology

Burning fossil fuels to drive cars or produce energy releases greenhouse gases which

have been causing climate change. Greenhouse gases are not inherently bad; in fact, their

presence in the air created the atmosphere which allows for life on earth. Unfortunately, as the

amount of greenhouse gases increase, the atmosphere traps more heat. In the present, “The

global temperature is...about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit higher than it was before the Industrial

Revolution” (University of Washington 2011). This may sound like a small number, but it is not.

If humans do not begin to curb their use of fossil fuels, “there also is a possibility temperatures

would rise to 3.5 degrees F higher than before the Industrial Revolution, a threshold at which

climate scientists say significant climate-related damage begins to occur” (University of

Washington 2011). To prevent potentially irreversible damage to the environment from

happening, humans must look to sustainable energy sources. Renewable energy has been a

rapidly growing market in the last ten years and for good reason. One of the leading renewable

energy sources is solar power. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 0.6%

of the electricity generated in the United States in 2015 came from solar power. Solar power and

other renewable energy sources like wind power combined to produce 7% of the electricity in

2015 (EIA 2016). President Obama has been vocal about the need for more renewable energy;

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“the president's goal is that 20 percent of electricity generated in 2030 will come from

renewables” (Ash 2015). The next generation of solar power will be a significant portion of that

goal. While conventional solar panels have been a decent fuel source, there have been limits on

their efficiency. Today, entry level solar panels average 10-15% efficiency. In February 2016,

American solar panel manufacturer SunPower set an efficiency record of 22.8% on its newest

panel (Wesoff 2016). The next generation of solar technology seek to raise efficiency

significantly.

One of the main issues with conventional solar panels is that they do not produce energy

in the rain. Chinese researchers recently discovered a solution to this issue. By applying a thin

layer of graphene, energy can be produced when rain comes into contact with the panel.

Graphene is a form of carbon in which the atoms are bonded in a honeycomb pattern. Because of

this pattern, electrons are free to move across the entire layer of graphene. Rainwater has

positively charged ions including sodium, calcium, and ammonium which lose electrons when

they come into contact with graphene. A pseudocapacitor is created as a result which is sufficient

to produce a voltage and current (ResearchSEA 2016).

It is unknown just how much energy can be produced using this technology at the moment;

however, this is a step in the right direction for solar panel technology. A thin layer of graphene

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is versatile enough to work on any existing panels and could be implemented in future designs.

As the technology becomes more refined, solar panels will be able to produce energy despite

inclement weather which will improve efficiency.

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Another technology that is being developed to improve panel efficiency is

thermophotovoltaic power. This is another method that does not require sunlight to produce

energy. Instead, nearby heat is captured by the panel which is then converted into energy. A new

metamaterial has been created by scientists from University of California Berkeley and the

Australian National University that may unlock the potential of thermophotovoltaics. The team's

metamaterial, “made of tiny nanoscopic structures of gold and magnesium fluoride, radiates heat

in specific directions. The geometry of the metamaterial can also be tweaked to give off radiation

in specific spectral range, in contrast to standard materials that emit their heat in all directions as

a broad range of infrared wavelengths” (ANU 2016). By concentrating heat in a specific

direction, cells will be able to produce significantly more power. The size of the metamaterial

also allows for much greater transmission of heat. In fact, “the size of [an] individual building

block of the metamaterial is so small that we could fit more than twelve thousand of them on the

cross-section of a human hair" (ANU 2016). The small size of this metamaterial allows

extremely dense energy production at the microscopic level. While this technology is still in the

developmental stage, thermophotovoltaics have tremendous potential and are predicted to be at

least twice as efficient as conventional photovoltaics. Along with improved efficiency is

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versatility. These panels can produce energy in the dark and can be combined with a heat source

for on demand power.

Thin-film solar cells are an emerging technology that will likely have a very large impact

in the future. One of the limitations of conventional solar panels is their rigidity; they simply are

too large and immobile to fit in small spaces. Scientists recently made a flexible solar panel out

of polymer that can be installed almost anywhere. What makes this specific polymer panel better

than previous designs is its lack of fullerene; an expensive material that is unstable at high

temperatures (Linköping University 2016). These scientists were able to achieve an 11%

efficiency on this panel. While this efficiency is below many current panels, the fullerene-free

polymer panels are much cheaper than conventional panels. Scientists from University of New

South Wales recently designed their own thin-film solar panel that is small enough to fit in a

person’s

hands. While the University of New South Wales panel only has a 7.6% efficiency, it is made of

non-toxic, cheap materials: copper, zinc, tin and sulphur (University of New South Wales 2016).

This small panel will likely open the door for many future applications. One such application is

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the architectural target of creating “zero energy” buildings. These buildings would make use of

thin film solar panels in facades, roofs, and windows which could supply enough power for the

entire structure. Skyscrapers and other large buildings consume massive amounts of energy. The

above building in Manhattan, for example, consumes 40,137 kWh of power each year (Schwartz

2014). In addition to large commercial buildings, the average United States home consumes

10,932 kWh of power each year.  In total, buildings use 47.6% of the total energy produced in

the United States (EIA 2015). Clearly, there is the need for sustainable architecture and thin-film

panels can make this possible. Scientists from the University of New South Wales say that a 20%

efficiency rating will be required for a building to meet all of its own energy needs. While this is

considerably higher than the 7.6% they achieved with their most recent panel, they are working

with many corporations interested in solar technology to reach 20% efficiency in the future.

There is another emerging technology that has an important role in producing energy in

developing countries. Concentrated solar power uses many reflectors to hone the sun’s energy to

one point. In a tower system like the one pictured below, a transfer liquid is heated to

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temperatures over 1000° Fahrenheit which creates steam to power a turbine (International

Institute for Applied Systems Analysis 2014). Another type of concentrated solar power

implements parabolic troughs to hone the sun’s energy on a tube filled with a working fluid. The

working fluid is heated to over 300° Fahrenheit and then is used as a heat source for a generator.

Concentrated solar power is most effective in regions near the equator because the sun’s rays

enter the atmosphere at a more direct angle. Currently, Spain is the world leader in concentrated

solar power capacity with 2,300 MW. The United States has the second highest capacity with

1,634 MW with plans to build more sites in the future. One of the drawbacks of concentrated

solar power is that they produce little to no energy during extended low sunlight periods. One

way around this would be to have battery storage linked to the concentrated solar power system.

Another method to prevent a lack of energy in periods of low light is to connect concentrated

solar systems to each other. By linking systems together, if one area is not getting enough

sunlight there will still be power generated by other systems to make up for lost energy.

All of the above technologies will make a difference in the earth’s energy production in

the future. While some of these technologies are still in the developmental phase, scientists are

working every day to make renewable energy more competitive with fossil fuels. As time

progresses, panels will become more efficient at converting the sun’s rays into energy which will

make solar power more cost effective than other energy sources. If the current trend of improved

efficiencies and decreased costs continues, renewable energy sources like solar power will likely

overtake fossil fuels as the dominant power source.

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Works Cited

Stricherz, Vince. "If Greenhouse Gas Emissions Stopped Now, Earth Still Would Likely Get

Warmer." UW Today. University of Washington, 15 Feb. 2015. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.

"U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis." What Is

U.S. Electricity Generation by Energy Source? U.S. Energy Information Administration,

1 Apr. 2016. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.

Ash, Kyle. "President Obama Announces New Renewable Energy Targets, but We Can and

Must Do More." Greenpeace International. N.p., 9 July 2015. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.

Wesoff, Eric. "SunPower Breaks Solar Panel Efficiency Record, Again." Green Technology.

Green Tech Media, 22 Feb. 2016. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.

ResearchSEA. "Graphene layer could allow solar cells to generate power when it rains."

ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 6 April 2016.

<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160406075516.htm>.

Australian National University. "Glowing nanomaterial to drive new generation of solar cells."

ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 April 2016.

<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160418095909.htm>.

Linköping University. "Cheap, efficient and flexible solar cells: New world record for fullerene-

free polymer solar cells." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 19 April 2016.

<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160419103847.htm>.

University of New South Wales. "At last: Non-toxic and cheap thin-film solar cells for 'zero-

energy' buildings: World's highest efficiency rating achieved for CZTS thin-film solar

cells." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 28 April 2016.

<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160428103023.htm>.

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Schwartz, Ariel. "A Block-By-Block Look At The Energy Consumption Of New York's

Buildings." Co.Exist. N.p., 13 Nov. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.

<http://www.fastcoexist.com/1679249/a-block-by-block-look-at-the-energy-

consumption-of-new-yorks-buildings>.

"U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis." How

Much Electricity Does an American Home Use? U.S. Energy Information

Administration, 21 Oct. 2015. Web. 11 May 2016.

<https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=97&t=3>.

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. "Concentrating solar power: Study shows

greater potential." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 June 2014.

<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140622142234.htm>.