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| Science & Technology |
| High Efficiency Solar Cell breakthrough |
| 2006-02-20 |
| In a scientific breakthrough that has stunned the world, a team of South African scientists has developed a revolutionary new, highly efficient solar power technology that will enable homes to obtain all their electricity from the sun. This means high electricity bills and frequent power failures could soon be a thing of the past. The unique South African-developed solar panels will make it possible for houses to become completely self-sufficient for energy supplies. The panels are able to generate enough energy to run stoves, geysers, lights, TVs, fridges, computers - in short all the mod-cons of the modern house. The new technology should be available in South Africa within a year and through a special converter, energy can be fed directly into the wiring of existing houses. New powerful storage units will allow energy storage to meet demands even in winter. The panels are so efficient they can operate through a Cape Town winter. while direct sunlight is ideal for high-energy generation, other daytime light also generates energy via the panels. A team of scientists led by University of Johannesburg (formerly Rand Afrikaans University) scientist Professor Vivian Alberts achieved the breakthrough after 10 years of research. The South African technology has now been patented across the world. One of the world leaders in solar energy, German company IFE Solar Systems, has invested more than R500-million in the South African invention and is set to manufacture 500,000 of the panels before the end of the year at a new plant in Germany. Production will start next month and the factory will run 24 hours a day, producing more than 1,000 panels a day to meet expected demand. Another large German solar company is negotiating with the South African inventors for rights to the technology, while a South African consortium of businesses are keen to build local factories. The new, highly efficient and cheap alloy solar panel is much more efficient than the costly old silicone solar panels. International experts have admitted that nothing else comes close to the effectiveness of the South African invention. The South African solar panels consist of a thin layer of a unique metal alloy that converts light into energy. The photo-responsive alloy can operate on virtually all flexible surfaces, which means it could in future find a host of other applications. Alberts said the new panels are approximately five microns thick (a human hair is 20 microns thick) while the older silicon panels are 350 microns thick. the cost of the South African technology is a fraction of the less effective silicone solar panels. Alberts said in Switzerland it was already compulsory for all new houses to include solar technology to lessen energy demands on national grids. "And that was the older, less effective technology. With our hours of sunlight, we will on average generate twice as much energy than, for instance, European countries." While South African scientists developed and patented the new, super-effective alloy solar panels, other companies have developed new, super-efficient storage batteries and special converters to change the energy into the power source of a particular country (220 volts in South Africa). |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #13 A few things here seem to be left out. 1. How do you enplace such thin panels without breaking them. 2. How does such a thin panel perform over time. 3. For that matter, it seems the panels are so thin that the wires that would have to go through it would stress the material just by the normal expansion and compression during diurnal heating and cooling. If you produce stuff cheaply that can't be installed cheaply and won't function for more than a few months under normal stress, its really not much of a breakthrough. |
| Posted by: mhw 2006-02-20 22:41 |
| #12 I try, Barbara...it's retaining that new info that I have problems with..... :-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-02-20 22:21 |
| #11 #10 Frank - we do, don't we? Ain't Rantburg grand? :-D |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-02-20 22:14 |
| #10 really? Learn something new every day here |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-02-20 21:34 |
| #9 Geyser, british, A gas fired water heater. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-02-20 21:33 |
| #8 The panels are able to generate enough energy to run stoves, geysers, lights, Geysers? Mistranslation perhaps, by chance do they mean Bidets, fountans or toilets? |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-02-20 21:13 |
| #7 A promising development to be sure, but I must warn you that university professors have a tendency to overstate the commercial values and timetables for new developments. When the German manugacturing engineers speak just as glowingly, I'll be convinced. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2006-02-20 20:45 |
| #6 for now. Kojo Annan just began work for Sol, inc. and do they have a UN proposal for you! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-02-20 20:26 |
| #5 Thanks, Moose. But I'll still say it for the umpteenth time. Efficiency of solar panels means bugger all, because sunlight is free and virtually unlimited. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-02-20 20:04 |
| #4 Wahhahahahaaha Frank. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-02-20 19:23 |
| #3 the dreaded Cape Town winter? Brrrrrr |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-02-20 18:36 |
| #2 South African silicon technology for 11teen please. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-02-20 18:33 |
| #1 From a more technical site, the big innovation here was that the SAs have figured out how to make panels cheaply. It works out to about $85 for a 50-Watt panel. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-02-20 18:20 |