The first commercial-scale installation of rooftop solar cells, printed with specialised inks, is a step towards an energy future in which solar power can be stuck to any roof or structure.
What if it were a lot easier to install solar power?
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Silicon is cheap and a good semiconductor, but it's bulky and rigid. Using organic polymers as semiconductors could yield solar panels with the physical characteristics of plastics.
Solar windows would need to trap enough light to generate power, while letting through enough to keep buildings light. Thankfully, newly developed semitransparent cells offer to do just that.
Individual light-harvesting protein complexes have a remarkable ability. Light, which is normally effectively harvested, is also used to finely control how much of it should be harvested.
Is solar power the technology of the future? It is certainly the fastest-growing energy generation technology in the UK. By the early 2020s, according to a new report, it will be cost-competitive with…
Perovskite, the latest magical substance.
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Whenever I tell people I work with solar cells I am asked the same two questions: are they ever going to be really cheap? And can you get me some? While the answer to the second question is no, the answer…
Layers of cool: a thin layer of glass added to solar cells could help them work better for longer.
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John Mathews, Macquarie Graduate School of Management
Recent postings to The Conversation have enlivened the debate over the “Great Transition” that is underway all around the world from the fossil-fuelled energy systems of the 20th century to the renewably…