Energy & Green Tech
New solar energy research from Arizona State University demonstrates that silicon-based, tandem photovoltaic modules, which convert sunlight to electricity with higher efficiency than present modules, will become increasingly ...
Jul 30, 2018
0
160
Energy & Green Tech
Environmentally friendly building trends have boosted the popularity of window coatings that keep heating and cooling costs down by blocking out unneeded parts of sunlight. They have also inspired scientists and engineers ...
Jul 3, 2018
5
65
Robotics
Insect-sized flying robots could help with time-consuming tasks like surveying crop growth on large farms or sniffing out gas leaks. These robots soar by fluttering tiny wings because they are too small to use propellers, ...
May 15, 2018
2
8638
Engineering
Imagine standing in front of a wall of windows, surveying the view. You hear someone enter the room behind you. You turn. "Welcome," you say. "Here is the video I wanted to show you." At the press of a button, the view vanishes ...
May 11, 2018
0
9
Energy & Green Tech
In an advance that makes a more flexible, inexpensive type of solar cell commercially viable, University of Michigan researchers have demonstrated organic solar cells that can achieve 15 percent efficiency.
Apr 23, 2018
2
2690
Energy & Green Tech
A new study from the University of Sheffield has confirmed the potential for Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) to be a 'game changer' in addressing global environmental challenges.
Aug 30, 2017
4
173
Energy & Green Tech
Scientists have identified an unexpected cause of poor performance in a new class of flexible and cheap solar cells, bringing them closer to market.
Dec 22, 2016
0
2473
Energy & Green Tech
A new concept could bring highly efficient solar power by combining three types of technologies that convert different parts of the light spectrum and also store energy for use after sundown.
Aug 18, 2016
2
3362
Energy & Green Tech
Workers with Ennoviga Solar and Lightsource Renewable Energy are set to unveil the largest floating solar array in the world, later this month. The five year project was commissioned by Thames Water and the electricity produced ...
Energy & Green Tech
France has ambitious plans to pave its roads using solar strips. How ambitious? The plan involves a 621-mile stretch of roads with the panels over the next five years, say reports.
Photovoltaics (PV) is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material. Materials presently used for photovoltaics include monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, and copper indium gallium selenide/sulfide. Due to the growing demand for renewable energy sources, the manufacturing of solar cells and photovoltaic arrays has advanced considerably in recent years.
Solar photovoltaics is growing rapidly, albeit from a small base, to a total global capacity of 40,000 MW at the end of 2010. More than 100 countries use solar PV. Some 24 GW of solar is projected in November 2011 to be installed in that year, pushing up worldwide capacity to roughly 64 GW. Installations may be ground-mounted (and sometimes integrated with farming and grazing) or built into the roof or walls of a building (building-integrated photovoltaics).
Driven by advances in technology and increases in manufacturing scale and sophistication, the cost of photovoltaics has declined steadily since the first solar cells were manufactured. Net metering and financial incentives, such as preferential feed-in tariffs for solar-generated electricity, have supported solar PV installations in many countries.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
