GOOD NEWS: Breakthrough Makes Solar Electricity Cheaper Than Coal

[Zeno Swijtink]

Nanosolar Price Barrier Breakthrough Makes Solar Electricity Cheaper Than Coal
DAVID GUTIERREZ - Natural News

https://www.naturalnews.com/023389.html

A new combination of nano and solar technology has made it possible for solar electric generation to be cheaper than burning coal. Nanosolar, Inc. has developed a way to produce a type of ink that absorbs solar radiation and converts into electric current. Photovoltaic (PV) sheets are produced by a machine similar to a printing press, which rolls out the PV ink onto sheets approximately the width of aluminum foil. These PV sheets can be produced at a rate of hundreds of feet per minute.

"It's 100 times thinner than existing solar panels, and we can deposit the semiconductors 100 times faster," said Nanosolar's cofounder and chief executive officer, R. Martin Roscheisen. "It's a combination that drives down costs dramatically."

Because of their light weight and flexibility, the PV sheets (dubbed PowerSheets) are much more versatile than current PV panels, which must be mounted on sturdy surfaces like roofs or the ground. In addition, because there is no silicon used in the production of the sheets, they cost only 30 cents per watt of power produced.

Traditional PV cells cost approximately $3 per watt, while burning coal costs about $1 per watt.

"This is the first time that we can actually drop the cost of solar electricity down to a level that would be competitive with grid electricity in most industrialized nations," said Nanosolar co-founder Brian Sager.

Nanosolar is ramping up production of its PowerSheets at factories in San Jose, California, and Berlin, and expects to have them commercially available before the end of the year. The buzz around the PowerSheets is so strong that the company already has a three to five year backorder, and the company has raised more than $150 million from venture capitalists, including Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

"Solar panels have not been very popular to the American people because they've been too expensive. That's what we're changing now," Roscheisen said.

[Lenny]

Thanks. Gives me hope and after being thrashed over the solar idea, that's a good thing! Although not in Home Depot, it looks promising even though there is a 12%-19% efficiency rating, about half that of PV, the weight and cost ratio make up for it. Now to have a break though in storage!

[Braggi]

... Now to have a break though in storage!

Lenny, don't be so hung up on storage. It's not that big a deal because most homeowners and most businesses don't need any storage because most are connected to "the grid" and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. The greatest problems with the grid happen during times of peak demand which happen to be the times of greatest sunlight. That's when photo voltaic panels produce the most power so all that power will be used, although, more efficiently because solar powered homes and offices generally have the PV panels on the roof which lowers cooling costs.

It's only families who live "off the grid" like I do and businesses that operate with mission critical uptime needs (like computer centers) that need backup storage. Current battery technology is problematic but functional for these needs. We paid $9,000 for our batteries 13 years ago which is a lot of money upfront, but they still work fine. I hope our next set of batteries is technologically superior to our current set. We'll see. I think the current "best of" crop is similar to what we have now, so there have been few major steps forward. It's worth noting that my batteries are almost 100% recyclable and will become new batteries some day.

Perhaps lithium ion technology will be the way to go when we need new batteries. The next generation of electric cars will use them. It's possible the advantages that make them great for cars, notably the lighter weight, won't matter to static installations so we'll just go for the old fashioned lead acid like we have now. I'll be watching for advances on both fronts as well as new exotic technologies.

-Jeff