Solar panels have played a pivotal role in the green energy revolution. With solar taking the biggest market share of the renewable energy market, they have become almost synonymous with the term “renewable energy”. Capturing energy from the sun, they convert and store this energy for us to use as electricity. They are most frequently found in solar farms, within private residences, and they can even be found in space!
How do solar panels work?
Solar panels work using photovoltaic technology. This technology converts energy from the sun into electricity. While the technology has been revolutionary in the renewable energy sphere, it still comes with its challenges. Solar powered energy operates best on days with good weather. The energy also needs to be stored in batteries, which are not only expensive to produce, but also nullify the renewable properties as the processes used to retrieve the lithium to make the batteries are harmful for the environment.
Other renewable sources which have been ground breaking in the energy sphere include wind energy and hydropower. Wind energy accounts for about a quarter of renewable energy production, and has the advantage of having low operating costs. As technology advances, the production costs have also been severely reduced, making wind power a powerful addition to the renewable sphere with increasing potential.
Gold may improve the efficiency of solar panels
Today, the majority of solar panels use silver in their production. Silver is a conductive material, and is used to make the electrical contacts on the surface of the solar cells. They are also used to make grid lines as well as being used the primary material to make the front contacts on the panels. Not only does silver’s conductive properties make it ideal in solar panel production, but it is also highly durable. This is an essential component for solar panels, as they spend their time outside and must be resilient towards the elements.
However, researchers at Stanford University are starting to identify the potential of including gold in the production of the materials. Gold has been identified as a possible element which can improve the performance and proficiency of solar panels. This comes down to the malleability and electrical conductivity of the material, which can change the way the wiring of solar panels work.
Traditionally, solar panels include a grid of interlaced wires which sit on top of the solar cell. These wires are responsible for conducting the electricity produced from the sun. However, the wires block out the sun on the solar cell and are responsible for reducing the cell’s performance by 5-10%, The solution to this blocking problem, lies in gold sheets.
The researchers from Stanford developed a very fine film of gold which is placed over the solar cell. This solution has been shown to reduce the blockage to only 3%. According to reports, researchers expect the new conductive material to increase efficiency of the solar cell between 20-22%.
Continued solar panel innovation
To see continued innovation in the solar panel sphere has been great news, especially considering that solar panels have been around for a long time. In addition to gold solar panels, other areas where solar panel performance is improving is in space. The International Space Station is powered entirely by solar power. However, the solar panels which are sent into space are quite different to the ones which are used on Earth.
These solar panels have been designed specifically to be lightweight and more versatile to account for the difficulty of fixing them if something goes wrong. Redwire Corporation has been instrumental to this, developing a new generation Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) wings to be used on the space station.
