Home page. MIT Researchers are Printing Solar Cells on Sheets of Paper Published on August 20, 2011 by admin · No Comments Geek.com Solar power is a great alternative energy source, but it’s unfortunately a rather expensive one.
However, researchers at MIT are working on a new and less-expensive way to make solar cells which involves printing them directly on to fabric or paper. We’re not talking about any fancy paper or fabrics. The MIT researchers discovered the printing process works on just about any paper, from regular printer paper, to tissue paper, and even to already-printed newspaper. It’s a much easier method than the current one, which needs super high-temperature liquids at several hundred degrees Celsius to create the cells.
The substrate of the current method is usually glass and requires a number of other components that are expensive and result in a heavy, rigid object – and that’s not even taking into account the installation costs. Read Entire Article HERE. ‘Artificial leaf’ makes fuel from sunlight. Researchers led by MIT professor Daniel Nocera have produced something they’re calling an “artificial leaf”: Like living leaves, the device can turn the energy of sunlight directly into a chemical fuel that can be stored and used later as an energy source.
The artificial leaf — a silicon solar cell with different catalytic materials bonded onto its two sides — needs no external wires or control circuits to operate. Simply placed in a container of water and exposed to sunlight, it quickly begins to generate streams of bubbles: oxygen bubbles from one side and hydrogen bubbles from the other. If placed in a container that has a barrier to separate the two sides, the two streams of bubbles can be collected and stored, and used later to deliver power: for example, by feeding them into a fuel cell that combines them once again into water while delivering an electric current.
The creation of the device is described in a paper published Sept. 30 in the journal Science. Flexible Solar Cells Mounted On Everyday 8.5 x 11 Paper. By: David Russell Schilling | June 18th, 2013 Miles Barr, an MIT student studying chemical engineering, was awarded the 2012 $30,000 Lemelson-MIT student prize for his innovative “Printed Paper Photovoltaics” or “3PV” design.
The design competition was funded by Italian oil company Eni which invested $5 million in the Emi-MIT Solar Frontiers Research Center at MIT. The center also received $2 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Barr’s paper detailing the process was published in the Journal of Advanced Materials. Countries Around The Globe Opting For Solar Power. Solar power, which converts sunlight into energy, is beneficial for reducing our carbon footprint and has been accepted as a greener alternative for harvesting power.
While harvesting solar energy has a carbon footprint of its own, research shows a solar panel’s carbon footprint is at least 20 times smaller than that of coal. As of late, solar energy is slowly transitioning from an alternative energy source to a preferred energy source. For starters, the Australian government recently announced a $1.3 million grant to researchers who specialize in solar power. Solar energy projects for Do It Yourselfers to save money and reduce pollution. 4 Million Miles of Solar Panel Roads Powering the USA. An interesting and perhaps game changing technology being considered in the US is roads made of solar powered panels that are interconnected creating an intelligent solar roadway.
With 4 million miles of roads and many millions more of raceways, parking garage roof tops, military runways and so on a decentralized, secure power grid could be created. The following image illustrates how the West Coast could power the East Coast in the evening and vice versa in the morning. Solar Highways Powering the US (Image Courtesy www.solarroadways.com) Until recently, when you thought of the high-tech Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) the first thing that came to mind was the recently installed wireless EZPASS toll pass system, now covering 90% of the nation’s tollbooths allowing cars to pay tolls without stopping. Photosynthesis Fuel Company Gets a Large Investment. Green tea: Joule Energy’s SolarConverter turns carbon dioxide and sunlight into ethanol fuel at a pilot plant in Leander, Texas.
Joule Unlimited, a startup based in Bedford, Massachusetts, has received $70 million to commercialize technology that uses microörganisms to turn sunlight and carbon dioxide into liquid fuel. The company claims that its genetically engineered bacteria will eventually be able to produce ethanol for as little as $1.23 a gallon or diesel fuel for $1.19 a gallon, less than half the current cost of both fossil fuels and existing biofuels. The new funding comes from undisclosed investors and will allow the company to expand from an existing pilot plant to its first small-scale production facility, in Hobbs, New Mexico. Conehead Generators Put A New Spin On Rooftop Solar.
Poly vs. Monocrystalline Solar Panels - Let's put this argument to bed! - Solar Power Blog. Blackouts In India Highlight Benefits Of Solar Power. India recently faced two massive power outages that were the largest in the past decade.
The first power grid collapse took place on Monday, affecting seven states in northern India. The power went out at 2:35 a.m. and was brought back six hours later, only to go out again. The first outage was followed by a second, even larger, power grid collapse on Tuesday which affected almost half of the country, hitting northern and eastern India. Being someone of Indian decent, and having visited the country, I know that the country and its people are no strangers to power outages–sometimes they are government mandated to save energy and at other times they are brought on by power grid failures.
If the two outages this past week have made one thing clear, it is this: India needs to take energy planning seriously and start reform. Even though India is Asia’s third-largest economy, the country still depends on coal for its energy needs. Photo via ThinkProgress.org.