Cheaper materials could be key to low-cost solar cells

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/02/17_solar.shtml

Cheaper materials could be key to low-cost solar cells

By Robert Sanders, Media Relations | 17 February 2009

BERKELEY — Unconventional solar cell materials that are as abundant but much less costly than silicon and other semiconductors in use today could substantially reduce the cost of solar photovoltaics, according to a new study from the Energy and Resources Group and the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).

These materials, some of which are highly abundant, could expand the potential for solar cells to become a globally significant source of low-carbon energy, the study authors said.

The analysis, which appeared online Feb. 13 in Environmental Science & Technology, examines the two most pressing challenges to large-scale deployment of solar photovoltaics as the world moves toward a carbon neutral future: cost per kilowatt hour and total resource abundance. The UC Berkeley study evaluated 23 promising semiconducting materials and discovered that 12 are abundant enough to meet or exceed annual worldwide energy demand. Of those 12, nine have a significant raw material cost reduction over traditional crystalline silicon, the most widely used photovoltaic material in mass production today.

The work provides a roadmap for research into novel solar cell types precisely when the U. S. Department of Energy and other funders plan to expand their efforts to link new basic research to deployment efforts as part of a national effort to greatly expand the use of clean energy, according to Daniel Kammen, UC Berkeley professor of energy and resources and director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory.

…

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es8019534

[msongs]

1. solar around here is a rip off scam really

we priced some solar stuff and those thieves all wanted 40K$ to slap some things up on the roof. even with welfare for solar subsidies it was still gonna cost over $20K. not cost effective at this time.

Msongs

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Scam might be a little strong, but...

yeah, if your electric rates are low enough the payback might go to your grandchildren.

Around here, though, dropping your monthly bill from 175 to 5 bucks a month (and I do know people who have done that) could give you a payback time of around 10 years after all the rebates and goodies leave you with an installed cost of 20 grand or so. How you finance it affects the numbers, of course, but you could try to aim for the monthly payments being lower than the savings so you get cash money in your pocket from day 1.