Solar Cell Breakthrough?

Cuts cost by 50%

http://news.yahoo.com/super-cheap-ultra-thin-solar-cells-could-threaten-161821405.html

AP1 said:

Cuts cost by 50%

http://news.yahoo.com/super-cheap-ultra-thin-solar-cells-could-threaten-161821405.html

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Yeah.. saw that earlier. I wonder if we should add this to the thread for "breakthrough batteries?" I think I've heard similar stories on solar cells over the years.

adric22 said:

AP1 said:

Cuts cost by 50%
http://news.yahoo.com/super-cheap-ultra-thin-solar-cells-could-threaten-161821405.html

Click to expand...

Yeah.. saw that earlier. I wonder if we should add this to the thread for "breakthrough batteries?" I think I've heard similar stories on solar cells over the years.

Click to expand...

Could be very interesting if it works out. Need to know what the disadvantages are. But getting 10x as many cells from the same amount of silicon is a good thing - and being able to bond the silicon to metal to make them flexible (where thin silicon wafers tend to shatter making handling difficult) is another very good advantage.

These types of cells could easily be used to cover not-completely flat surfaces.

But as always - until a manufacturer starts buying their machinery and producing the panels in volume, it's still basically vaporware and does nothing for actual prices on the street.

Solar cell breakthroughs seem to happen several times per year. The reality of it changes more slowly. Hope the advance is cap-cost effective.

If true, cutting cost is good progress but we'll have to wait and see what materializes. Just because you can make it cheap doesn't mean you sell it cheap. It takes competition for that. Remember Nanosolar claiming $1 a watt and then only selling to businesses at undisclosed prices?

I'm surprised we haven't seen more strides in efficiency and life expectancy. I think the current record is ~40%. At 1000 watts per square meter we've got a long ways to go.

bill said:

Remember Nanosolar claiming $1 a watt and then only selling to businesses at undisclosed prices?

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Here are some panels at $1 per watt today:

http://www.sunelec.com/index.php?ma...h_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=SV-T

I assume these new panels would be 50 cents per watt

According to the article, 40 cents per watt If you are interested in the technique specifics, look at the link http://www.twincreekstechnologies.com/. It looks impressive and real, but...

The video of the "proton knife" is very cool!
http://www.twincreekstechnologies.com/technology/hyperion.html

I've dug through the website but don't see the efficiency ratings for the new cells. Is it in there and I'm just missing it?

jhm614 said:

I've dug through the website but don't see the efficiency ratings for the new cells. Is it in there and I'm just missing it?

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Similar to current silicon PV tech - 15-20%.

From their website:

While the ultra-thin wafers produced with Hyperion contain only a fraction of the material required for a standard wafer, the solar cells, LEDs or devices produced from the Hyperion lamina provide similar or better levels of performance as devices made from conventional “fat” wafers.

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