What happens when a crisis hits? Serendipity. As we are wondering what would happen to us when fossil fuels are depleted, scientists all over the world are busy finding solutions. Solar energy technology has set out to create high-efficiency solar cells that can harness record levels of solar energy
The world is finally catching up, or so it seems. Just look around you. Scientists all over the world are in a mad scramble for finding alternatives for the fast depleting fossil fuel reserves and you need no prizes for guessing that the reservoir they would tap into would be the ubiquitous, boundless, abundant renewable energy sources. The amount of research and the breakthroughs in the area of Solar Cell Development seem to be particularly astounding.
Anna Dyson, an architectural scientist from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, has worked relentlessly to produce an unbelievable solar device that can bring about efficiencies of up to 80% from the meager 14% that is the norm today. This technology has been discussed in an article about the future of solar energy.
As a recent and very noteworthy example, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s national Renewable Energy laboratory (NREL) have already achieved a record of sorts after having made the world’s most efficient Photovoltaic device. It is said that this device can convert up to 40.8% of sun’s energy into electricity. That’s a lot of energy coming from everyday sunlight. This device is slated to be a prime material to be used on space satellites which typically use lenses or mirrors for light concentration until now.
In yet another instance, this time from the European stables, a whopping 39.7% efficiency has been achieved for a multi-function solar cell at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg which beats their own erstwhile record of 37.6%. The researchers have said to have improved the contact structures of the said solar cells to improve the efficiency while keeping the same semiconductor structures to convert the sun’s light into energy.
Results and break-throughs like these only go on to prove that the future does have something for us to hope for and things aren’t as bleak as they might seem to be now. Everything, from the climatic conditions on planet earth to business cycles -- have highs and lows and we are now caught bang in the middle of a low, right now. For now, however, solar energy looks promising enough.