While it may be hard to fathom right now, we may be just a few years away from seeing solar energy is a mainstream power source. As technology increases the efficiency of solar panels year-over-year, and prices drop, the adoption of the source of power will become more and more widespread. In this article, we'll discuss some of the new and exciting discoveries in the field of solar energy.
While technically not a new discovery, the accelerating exponential growth of solar energy technology is fueling massive change in this field. Much like Moore's law in computing, the advances in solar energy power increasing at an exponential rate. This creates a snowball effect that provides funding for further research and the growing sense of excitement in both the scientific community and the public.
Scientists have recently developed a polymer foil, as thin as a sheet of paper and nearly 200 times lighter than the current glass collecting plates used for solar energy. There's potential for mass production of these polymer foils, and the fragile glass-based materials used to create photovoltaic cells today could be replaced. This would be a game changer, as the cost and efficiency of solar panels would skyrocket. This new technology is said to be up to five times more efficient, and able to collect power even on cloudy days.
At present, the best polymer solar cells only actually harness about 6% of the sun's power. With continued research and development, these new polymer solar cells could be expected to harness up to 30% of the sun's energy. This massive increase in conversion would be a big deal for the solar energy industry.
Scientists and researchers are attempting to create a future in which solar farms will be huge player in the world's energy portfolio. Obviously, technology plays a massive role here, and as the technology advances so can our expectations of this free, clean power source.
