The Super Soaker and the Solar Revolution
Here comes the Sun. Hot on the heels of 2007 being one of the Northern Hemisphere’s hottest years, we’re about to enjoy a solar energy revolution.
California company Nanosolar have started to manufacture mass-produced solar cells on a roll of aluminium film. Each printed photovoltaic wafer will be flexible, light and possibly as inexpensive at 99 cents ““ which nicely challenges the major stumbling-block of solar power as a viable alternative energy source, cost (typically three times that of traditional methods). On paper, this makes for good value.
And what about the other major problem ““ efficiency? Solar energy conversion is notoriously inefficient, ranging from 6% for amorphous silicon-based cells to cutting-edge lab prototypes in the 30-40% range. In other words, at best, over half of the energy is still wasted.
Cue Lonnie Johnson. Nuclear engineer and inventor of the Super Soaker toy (who says boffins don’t have a sense of fun?), Johnson has now created a form of solar power technology that can work at an efficiency of close to 60%. This translates to megawatts of power generated when the system reached a blistering 660°C.
(I wonder how he will cool it down afterwards?)
Image: Paco CT
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