Oxford University scientists may have solved one of the biggest obstacles to expanding access to solar energy. Instead of bulky silicon-based solar panels, scientists from the university’s physics department have created an ultra-thin layer of material that can be applied to the exterior of objects that receive sunlight.
The ultra-thin and flexible film is made by stacking layers of perovskite light-absorbing layers just over a micron thick. The new materials are also 150 times thinner than traditional silicon wafers and can produce 5 percent more energy efficiency than conventional, single-layer silicon photovoltaics. This was reported by Oxford University.
Dr., a post-doctoral researcher in Oxford’s physics department. Shauifeng Hu believes that “this approach can allow photovoltaic devices to achieve greater efficiency, exceeding 45 percent.”
This new approach to solar energy technology can also reduce the cost of solar energy. Due to their thinness and flexibility, they can be applied to almost any surface. This reduces construction and installation costs and can increase the number of solar farms that produce more sustainable energy.
However, this technology is still in the research phase, and the university does not mention the long-term stability of the newly designed perovskite panels. Increasing solar energy efficiency from 6 percent to 27 percent in five years is an impressive achievement, but stability has always been limited compared to photovoltaic technology. US Department of Energy. A 2016 study in the journal Science Solar Energy Materials and Solar Batteries also noted that perovskite can provide “efficient, low-cost power generation” but has “poor stability” due to its sensitivity to moisture.
Solar energy has also become a cheaper energy option in the last decade. The cost of solar photovoltaic technology has decreased by 90 percent in the last 10 years. Global Change Data Lab.
New solar farms are popping up all over the world. US Department of Energy Earlier this month, it announced it was turning an 8,000-acre site, once home to parts of the nuclear weapons program known as the Manhattan Project, into a solar farm. last month, Google has invested in a Taiwanese solar company construction of 1 gigawatt pipeline in the region.
