the green bin

When you think of solar power, you think of two things.  One, it is the most abundant source of energy.  Two, it’s too expensive.  Fossil fuels continue to dominate the world’s energy supply, but with a new cost-efficient milestone in the solar energy industry, we may see the catalyst we’ve needed to shift our world to solar power.

The current solar photovoltaicsis market is dominated by silicon solar cells, but a new company called Nanosolar has introduced a secret recipe for printing cheap solar cells on aluminum foil, which is much more abundant, and much cheaper.  Nanosolar’s technology consists of sandwiches of copper, indium, gallium and selenide (CIGS) that are 100 times thinner than the silicon solar cells.

What sets Nanosolar apart is the way the company actually gets its semiconductors to stick to the aluminum foil.  Most companies use various techniques executed under vacuum conditions, whereas Nanosolar prints its solar cells.  Thin-film cells, like Nanosolar’s, seem perfect for the applications researchers imagined like solar shingles for building-integrated solar installations.

Silicon cells are easy to manufacture, dependable and efficient, but researchers view them as inherently limited.  As they are currently produced, they require a lot more silicon than thin-film solar cells.  They might reach efficiency levels over 40%, but they’d never compete with fossil fuel energy sources, even with carbon taxes (Wired.com).

The secret recipe for printing cheap solar cells on aluminum foil is going to be a vital factor in making solar panels widely available, at low prices, and ultimately reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.  The key is to not only make a cost-efficient solar panel, but to also minimize the systems required for deploying the panel.  If this can become available for homeowners at affordable prices, we are heading in the right direction.