[Lapg] Nano solar tech

[Cory Brennan]

Anybody have any further data about this stuff?  How accurate is this article? 

I heard about this tech before and it is coming  out really fast. It could be an answer to those who sum the subject  up by saying it is too expensive.
  
 There is an interesting discussion about it at  the bottom of the article (not in this email).
  
 Heela
 *******
  
 1.    WATCH thid Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4riNlqZHCTQ
  
 2.    Here is the  article:
 http://www.celsias.com/2007/11/23/nanosolars-breakthrough-technology-solar-now-cheaper-than-coal/
           Nanosolar’s Breakthrough - Solar Now Cheaper than Coal   November 23, 2007
                   
  Their mission: to deliver cost-efficient solar electricity. The  Nanosolar company was founded in 2002 and is working to build the world’s  largest solar cell factory in California and the world’s largest panel-assembly  factory in Germany. They have successfully created a solar coating that is the  most cost-efficient solar energy source ever. Their PowerSheet cells contrast  the current solar technology systems by reducing the cost of production from $3  a watt to a mere 30 cents per watt. This makes, for the first time in history,  solar power cheaper than burning coal.
 These coatings are as thin as a layer of  paint and can transfer sunlight to power at amazing efficiency. Although the  underlying technology has been around for years, Nanosolar has created the  actual technology to manufacture and mass produce the solar sheets. The  Nanosolar plant in San Jose, once in full production in 2008, will be capable of  producing 430 megawatts per year. This is more than the combined total of every  other solar manufacturer in the U.S.
              
Nano particles
 Nanosolar, Inc. prides themselves on being  the “Third Wave” of solar technology. The “First Wave” began over three decades  ago with the introduction of silicon wafer based solar cells. This technology  bore high material and production costs with poor capital efficiency. Silicon  does not absorb light very well and therefore, the silicon wafers must be very  thick. Also, the wafers are extremely fragile. Their need for intricate handling  complicates processing all the way up to the final panel product.
 The “Second Wave” came about a decade ago with the first “thin-film”  solar cells. This established that a cell 100 times thinner than the solar  wafers can work just as well. However, this process also has its setbacks.  First, the cells semiconductor was deposited using slow and expensive  high-vacuum based processes. Secondly, the thin films were deposited directly on  glass as a substrate. This eliminated the possibilities of:
  
   Using a conductive substrate directly as electrode (The    Nanosolar cells work on a metal foil substrate, or semiconductor, instead of    the stainless steel or glass substrate. The metal foil semiconductor creates    an increase in yield of 20%);
   Achieving a low-cost top electrode of high performance (An    electrode is a conductor through which electricity flows.);
   Employing the yield and performance advantages of individual cell matching & sorting (The    effect of electrical mismatch per cell leads to greater losses per panel as a    result, and panel yield and efficiency distribution suffer: A bad cell results    in a bad panel with thin-film-on-glass technology; but with a cell-sorting    technology, only that cell will be a loss);
   Employing high-yield continuous roll-to-roll processing (Roll-to-roll    processing allows large quantities of material to be processed with equipment    that leaves a small footprint);
   Developing high-power high-current panels with lower    balance-of-system cost {Nanosolar.com}. To put it simply, the production cost    was still too high and the product did not yield a high enough output of    energy.

 Nanosolar, however, brings together the entire conjunction of  all seven areas of innovation  which delivers a dramatic improvement in cost efficiency, yield and throughput  of the production of much thinner cells than ever before.
 
 Nanosolar offers a 25 year warranty on its products.  They test their products in much harsher conditions than the official  certification standards. They expose the cells to intense UV light as well as  intense humidity. This in depth testing allows for Nanosolar to produce a  quality product with efficient output in all environments.
 But, despite such advances, congress is trying to remove tax incentives for renewable  energy
.
                   On TV / Videos
       CNBC: Sunshine in a Can
       CNN: Global Challenges
       History Channel: Modern Marvels
       KQED: Solar City–The Future of  Nanosolar
 Further Reading:
 
   Popular Science, Nov 12, 2007
Nanosolar: Top Innovation of the Year    2007
   Forbes, July 9, 2007
Solar Power Heats Up With    Nanotechnology
   Plenty Magazine, March 17, 2007
Nanosolar: #1 of Green Energy Top 20    (PDF)
   Energy and Capital, March 16, 2007
A    New Day Dawns for Solar
U.S. DoE selects Nanosolar    for $20m grant
   National Geographic, Aug 2005
Powering the Future
   History Channel, Dec 30, 2004
Modern Marvels: Energy Technology (MPEG    video)








       
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