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Second-Generation Solar Cells
| Article
# : |
14645 |
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Section : |
NATURAL SCIENCE
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| Issue
Date : |
5 / 1988 |
4,305 Words |
| Author
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Kenneth Zweibel
Kenneth Zweibel is manager of the Polycrystalline Thin Films
Program at the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) in
Golden, Colorado. He is author of Basic Photovoltaic
Principles and Methods, published by Van Nostrand Reinhold in
1983. The opinions expressed in this article are his and do
not necessarily reflect those of the Solar Energy research
Institute, the Midwest Research Institute (which manages
SERI), or the Department of Energy. |
Even without an energy crisis, people have dreamed of harnessing the sun's energy in a way that is clean, safe, and cost effective. The energy crisis of the seventies and early eighties placed that dream in the forefront of people's minds; but the waning immediacy of the energy crisis has reduced people's interest in solar energy. Strangely, though, important progress toward achieving the dream has occurred while the public has looked the other way. Solar cells--one of the best concepts for harnessing the sun's energy--are coming on strong.
Solar cells are layered semiconductor devices that are able to turn sunlight directly into electricity. They should not be confused with solar water heaters, which are essentially dark-painted pipes that turn sunlight into heat. Solar cells are unique devices that, until the advent of consumer products like solar calculators, were rarely seen. In fact, their main use had been to power satellites in space.
So why aren't solar cells already being used to provide our electricity? The answer is simple: They have cost too much. NASA pays more than a thousand dollars per square meter for the special solar cells it sends into orbit; for more ordinary, daily uses, that's far too much. Using the power from those solar cells for thirty years would still not pay for the original panel!
The good news is that over a decade of research and development has gone into making solar cells much less expensive. The cost of electricity generated by solar cells has dropped almost two orders of magnitude, from over $10 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) to about $0.30. (We pay about $0.07 per kwh for conventional electricity.) At $0.30/kwh, power generation by an array of solar cells would arguably be less expensive than the next nuclear power plant (including all environmental, safety, and decommissioning costs), and solar-cell costs are still falling fast. In fact, expectations for the next 10 to 15 years are that solar cells will be available at about $0.06/kwh, making them competitive with any electricity option. The dream of harnessing the sun (without sacrificing our life-style expectations) could become real in the first decade of the twenty-first century.
There is no more environmentally benign energy source than solar cells. But the real payoff will come when they become one of the cheapest ways to make electricity. The environmental advantages will be a bonus.
How Do Solar Cells
...
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