Alternative Ways to Bring Down the Cost of Solar Energy
Copyright (c) 2013 Howard Tyler
The concept of utilizing renewable resources for producing electricity is not new. Hydropower, wind energy, and even solar power are some of the more common alternative methods but they all have their pros and cons.
There are not enough water desalination plants in the world to overcome the shortage of drinking water. Besides, the overall production cost of electricity using hydropower is too costly. On the other hand, wind and sunlight are two sources of energy which are available to every country in abundance. This is the reason that during the past decade, global use of wind and solar energy for the production of electricity has increased considerably.
Cost Estimation of a Solar Panel
Solar panels and solar cells have become familiar terminologies in the past few years. But they're still not as popular as they should be, mostly because of the cost of installation. There are a number of factors that influence the cost estimation of installing a solar panel or solar cell. Following are the factors that directly affect the cost of a solar power plant.
Size of the panel
Power consumption rate
Peak sunlight hours during the day time
According a survey conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a residential rooftop solar panel costs between $0.28 and $0.46 per kWh. However, in the last few decades, technological breakthroughs and massive production of solar cells and panels have lowered the cost of solar energy.
Cost Reduction Techniques
Scientists all over the world are conducting experiments to further reduce the cost of solar energy. Although the market trend suggests that there is great probability that the cost of solar panels will go down further, new researches are focusing on innovative ideas which can cut down the manufacturing costs of solar panels.
Reduction in Silicon Waste
One way to reduce the manufacturing cost of a solar panel is to reduce the amount of raw silicon which gets wasted in sizing and cutting. The formation of silicon wafers from raw silicon needs to cut the silicon ingots into thin sheets. A good amount of silicon is wasted as dust in these processes. According to estimation, the amount of dust in the sawing and thinning for 2-meter silicon ingot can be used in making 6 silicon wafers.
According to a research by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, raw silicon should not undergo direct sawing and sizing. Instead, disposition of raw silicon on a thin foil can allow manufacturers to have thin sheets of silicon. This will not require cutting and thinning. This can result in 6 times more production of silicon wafers than traditional manufacturing.
Using Different Semiconductor
The idea of using silicon as a semiconductor for the conversion of solar energy into electric current can be twisted a little. RTI international claims the cost of solar energy can be cut down up to 75% by using a mixture of semiconductors for making panels. This research says that the mixture can accelerate the process of sunlight absorption and conversion in to current.
New researches give innovative ideas to bring down the cost of solar energy. Other semiconductors should be tested in order to compare their performance and cost with silicon. Manufacturers prefer silicon, but experiments show that there can be room for other semiconductors as well.
About the Author
Author: Howard Tyler Bio: Fascinated with how things work I have a passion for innovation. Problem solving energy is a global concern, many people and teams are working hard on innovating for clean energy, I feel it is my roll to discover, compile and write about these people. As a contributor to clean energy DiVi Energy offers investment grade help for Governments and Businesses (sometimes free) check it out at http://divienergy.com/
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