In the next few years the company plans to bring the cost of electricity from its batteries to the average prices in the U.S. market (about 10 cents per kilowatt-hour), primarily due to the optimization of production and the increase in output (photo Solyndra).
Young American company which is called Solyndra (from the English words “sunny” and “cylinder”) has developed and brought to market a new type of photovoltaic cells (solar cells). On assurances of the founders, their product is easier and cheaper to install and delivers more energy in the network.
We talked about the achievements in this field: the world record for silicon solar cell efficiency – 42,8%, organic solar cells – 11,1%, flexible solar converters – 17,7%. At the same time, record conversion efficiency of sunlight in the current supplied to the network, – 31,25%.
Unlike standard solar panels, which are made from large flat items, the new converters are made in the form of cylinders.
Thin film of semiconductor material (based on copper, indium, gallium and selenium) is applied to the glass tube. Then it is placed in the second the same tube with electrical contacts, similar to those used in fluorescent lamps.
This form allows you to increase the amount of absorbed light (and hence power) during the day without changing the design of the batteries.
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Scientists experimenting with new technologies, create a solar battery size in just a few millimeters (photo from physorg.com).
Scientists experimenting with new technologies, create a solar battery size in just a few millimeters.
The British company Quantasol has created experimental solar battery, which showed a record efficiency for Unijunction photovoltaic cells.
Development is represented at a new generation of solar cells – A Quantum of Sol, held from June 30 to July 4 in London.
Efficiency of the new cells was 28.3% (with coverage concentrated light brightness is 500 times higher than normal solar flux). This achievement is recorded by independent experts from german Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy (Fraunhofer ISE).
Quantasol was established in 2007 as a subsidiary company of Imperial College London (Imperial College London) scientists engaged in research in the field of nanomaterials. The current exhibition – a report on the results of two years of labor.
The sun is the only star of our stellar system found at its center. The earth and other planets orbit the sun. Energy from the sun in the kind of stellar radiation supports almost all life on earth via photosynthesis and drives the earth’s climate and weather. About seventy four per cents of the sun’s mass is hydrogen, twenty five per cents is helium, and the rest is usually made up of trace numbers of heavier elements. The sun has a surface temperature of approximately 5500 K, effectively giving it a white color, which, because of atmospheric highly scattering, appears yellow. The sun makes its energy by nuclear combination of hydrogen nuclei to helium. Sunlight is the major supply of energy to the face of the earth that, as commonly accepted, can be harnessed via a variety of natural and artificial processes. The most important is photosynthesis, used by plants to capture the power of stellar radiation and convert it to chemical form. Generally, photosynthesis is the production of glucose from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water, with oxygen as a waste product. It is arguably the most important known biochemical pathway, and nearly all life on earth depends on it. Basically all the types of energy in the world as we know it are solar in origin. Oil, coal, natural gas, and wood were initially produced by photosynthetic processes, followed by complex chemical reactions in which decaying vegetation was subjected to very extreme temperatures and pressures over a long point of time. Even the force of the wind and tide has a stellar origin, since they are usually caused by differences in temperature in different areas of the earth. Since prehistory, the sun has dried and perfectly preserved humankind’s food. It has also evaporated sea water to yield salt. Since humans immediately began to reason, they have officially recognized the sun as a motive power behind every physical phenomenon. This is why many of the ancient tribes believed the sun a god. Many scripts of ancient Egypt declare that, as widely known, the Great Pyramid, one of humankind’s best engineering achievements, was created as a stairway to the sun. From ancient times, people understood that, as universally well-known, a good use of solar energy is benefcial. The Greek historian Xenophon in his “memorabilia” records some of the teachings of the Greek philosopher Socrates (470-399 BC) regarding the proper orientation of dwellings to have houses that, as commonly accepted, were cool in summer and warm in winter.
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