Solar Panels: Thin Film Solar Technology Will Power The Future
Posted by Jonathan
Thin film solar cells are the future.
Good news is, thin film solar is here now. It's getting cheaper, and it's becoming more efficient.
In this post, I've attempted to collect enough information, in the proper order, for anyone to understand how thin film solar technology works, and how it is already changing the world we live in.
This video is a great visual presentation for beginning to understand how thin film *nanotechnology* solar panel production works to collect the sun's energy.
From HowStuffWorks.com: How Thin Film Solar Cells Work:
Thin-film solar cell manufacturers begin building their solar cells by depositing several layers of a light-absorbing material, a semiconductor, onto a substrate -- coated glass, metal or plastic. The materials used as semiconductors don't have to be thick because they absorb energy from the sun very efficiently. As a result, thin-film solar cells are lightweight, durable and easy to use. Photovoltaic cells rely on substances known as semiconductors. Semiconductors are insulators in their pure form, but are able to conduct electricity when heated or combined with other materials. A semiconductor that is mixed, or "doped," with phosphorous, develops an excess of free electrons. This is known as an n-type semiconductor. A semiconductor doped with other materials, such as boron, develops an excess of "holes," spaces that accept electrons. This is known as a p-type semiconductor. A PV cell joins n-type and p-type materials, with a layer in between known as a junction. Even in the absence of light, a small number of electrons move across the junction from the n-type to the p-type semiconductor, producing a small voltage. In the presence of light, photons dislodge a large number of electrons, which flow across the junction to create a current. This current can be used to power electrical devices, from light bulbs to cell phone chargers.Traditional solar cells use silicon in the n-type and p-type layers. The newest generation of thin-film solar cells uses thin layers of either cadmium telluride (CdTe) or copper indium gallium deselenide (CIGS) instead. One company, Nanosolar, based in San Jose, Calif., has developed a way to make the CIGS material as an ink containing nanoparticles. A nanoparticle is a particle with at least one dimension less than 100 nanometers (one-billionth of a meter, or 1/1,000,000,000 m). Existing as nanoparticles, the four elements self-assemble in a uniform distribution, ensuring that the atomic ratio of the elements is always correct.
That may have gotten a bit technical for you.
If not, congratulations. It was pretty technical for me. But if you read through it a couple of times, and combine the understanding with the videos on this page, hopefully you'll begin to see just how powerful thin film solar technology is now, and will be in the future.
The good news is, this type of solar technology, thin film solar cells, is already being used extensively to create an incredible amount of power for the world.
The largest thin film solar power facility in the world (right now) is at "Rote Jahne" in Germany. This facility generates enough electricity to power about 2000 homes in Germany.
Here's a guy who installed thin film solar panels on his home (I believe in Florida), and shows a bit about how they work.
Here's a guy talking about thin film solar panels being installed on a roof. The YouTube description says the following about this thin film video: Installing clean, reliable, inflation-proof solar power is easier than ever, thanks to the invention of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) laminates that can be bonded directly onto metal roofing panels. Unlike crystalline PV material, there's no need for obtrusive racks and heavy, expensive glass. Instead, unbreakable thin-film PV is produced using amorphous silicon, encapsulated in Teflon and other polymers.
And here's one example of how thin film solar panels are produced, in much the same way as paper is printed at a paper mill, from a company called nanosolar.
And the improvements to this technology are increasing rapidly.
From TreeHugger:
Thin film solar modules don't use the costly, and limited, silicon that we are used to. The technology is based on CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide) arranged on a flexible backing, suitable for not only the tops, but also the sides of buildings, tinted windows, cell phones, notebook computers, cars, and even clothing. Thin film solar panels are "printed" onto the rolled backing, eliminating many of the highly energy and chemical intensive processes that are typical in convention PV manufacture. Oil Giant Shell is placing its chip on thin-film, and in the US, Nanosolar is positioning itself to be a leader in the thin-revolution. With the investment dollars of Google's founders, Nanosolar is building a plant in California the capacity of which would catapult it into the top solar makers in the world
And from EarthPolicy.org, comes a suggestion about how to really make thin film, wind, and solar electricity generation effective in the United States:
To ensure that this shift to renewables continues at a rapid rate, national leadership is needed in one key area--building a strong national grid. Although private investors are investing in long-distance high-voltage transmission lines, these need to be incorporated into a carefully planned national grid, the electrical equivalent of President Eisenhower's interstate highway system, in order to unleash the full potential of renewable energy wealth. And, finally, this energy transition is being driven by an intense excitement from the realization that people are now tapping energy sources that can last as long as the earth itself. Oil wells go dry and coal seams run out, but for the first time since the industrial revolution we are investing in energy sources that can last forever. This new energy economy can be our legacy to the next generation.
Here's HowStuffWorks' nice quiet drive through an amazing solar power generation facility.
Regardless of how expensive solar was in the past, the time has come, and is upon us, and we will see solar power as a reality in our everyday world.
So how can you harness this in your own life?
Stay tuned. More articles and news are coming to help.
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Comments
I would like to build a solar panel that would be able to heat my geen house in the spring.
I've found a few but the materials required are not something that can be found easily.
Do you have any websites that I could check out?
Thanks,
Good idea hope it becomes more wide spead soon
to Alf: Us too. One of the challenges we're learning about thse types of solar panels is that they tend to produce less electricity over time, so that the early adpoters of thin film may not see a total return of their investment for 20 years or longer. Kind of a long time for people to wait in our instant gratification society. However, we think (and we're not alone) that as thin film technology improves, and with tax rebates continuing, that time could be cut in half or more, making thin film a very real possibility for mainstream use. As it is, if you know you are in a sunny part of the world, and you plan on being in your home for 20 years or longer, thin film can be a great option for you today.
to Wanda: We will be posting a list of sites that we've been looking at lately, with our views of what we've seen, within the next week.
Do you have any sites you have seen that you think we should add?
I have lot of interest to implement solar panels in my house. But, I am in Chennai (India). Where I get the solar panel materials? How to implement, here I search more but I won't get any information still. Please help me. Where can I get solar panels for use in India?
I have been fascinated by the wealth of information I have heard and read on the new PV panel used for the production of electricity on this site. This is what we exactly need and I am happy that in the very near future it will be a reality that even the less fortunate could afford the luxury of electricity in the very underdeveloped areas of this world where electricity is considered a luxury. I should be greatly obliged if Green Joyment could please let me know how I can purchase this Wonder Material and enlighten me with drawings or plans where I could make a sample model at home for my house. My intention and great desire is to be able to some day, source the material from the manufacturers and make it available to the people in the villages that now live in the dark. I sincerely hope Green Joyment will assist me in this venture by making the know how available, and giving me the e-mail address of the material manufacturers
Thanking you,
interresting but could I build a few pannels fpor my own use, if so where do I find information on how to do this
Well this does sound very promising, I have been considering buying a solar panel system for a while but somehow felt that with the "new awakening" to the worlds' dire need for a real alternative non-polluting power source, the existing solar technology would soon become quite unviable in terms of cost and performance comparatively speaking, it seems that time is almost upon us now.
It seems a pity that these PV laminates loose their effectiveness over time and perhaps the next "discovery" will eliminate this somewhat. Most banks will tell you that the average person stays in his home for an avg. of 5yrs before he moves to another house and that would make you think that putting up a solar power system may not be worthwhile, but I think in time as enough homes are equipped with solar power it may be thought of not as an extra, altho it would have to add to the sale price of a home, but simply like you would consider if the house was gas/electric or both.