Could this be the future for low cost solar power? According to UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner, “Renewables are becoming ever more central to our low-carbon lifestyles, and the record-setting investments in 2015 are further proof of this trend”. “Importantly, for the first time in 2015, renewables in investments were higher in developing countries than developed.”
A report by UNEP also mentioned that “In 2015, more attention was drawn to battery storage as an adjunct to solar and wind projects and to small-scale PV systems”.
UNEP highlighted that energy storage is of significant importance as it is one way of providing fast-responding balancing to the grid, whether to deal with demand spikes or variable renewable power generation from wind and solar. Last year, some 250MW of utility-scale electricity storage (excluding pumped hydro and lead-acid batteries) was installed worldwide, up from 160MW in 2014.
However, the news is that a polish company developed a prototype of a solar cell, in which silicon is replaced by perovskites, substances that perfectly absorb light and are said to be the future of solar energy.
The company has produced a telephone charger using this material. Konrad Wojkowski from “Saule Technologies” said in an interview with REUTERS that “this item is very cost effective for producing films, and it is also flexible, which makes it possible to be used in portable electronics”.
However, the report indicated that the team is working more on the prototype to make it durable and suitable for everyday use. If they succeed, the team plans to use it in a range of devices including tablets and laptops.
The next step in producing perovskite solar cells, however, is expanding their surface to allow application on any large area, such as home windows and roofs.
Researchers say this is the best hope for harnessing the sun’s power, without costing the earth. Isn’t that what one of our main concerns today?
Video from “Engineering World” page on “Facebook”
