Low Cost Solar Cells From Unconventional Material Is The Key To Solar Future

When we think about solar cells we tend to think about silicon and other semi conductor based instruments that translate in to high cost. But the adaptation of solar power as a major component of making our earth a better place and to combat climate change is forcing us to look in to better and cheaper solar photovoltaics. That is exactly the information, what a group of researchers at the Energy and Resources Group and the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) released in a form of study.

The study states that these materials are abundant and could expand the use of solar cells as a significant source of low-carbon energy.

Following is an abstract of information released by University of Berkeley (A link to the article at the end of this post);

The work provides a roadmap for research into novel solar cell types precisely when the U. S. Department of Energy and other funders plan to expand their efforts to link new basic research to deployment efforts as part of a national effort to greatly expand the use of clean energy, according to Daniel Kammen, UC Berkeley professor of energy and resources and director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory.

“The reason we started looking at new materials is because people often assume solar will be the dominant energy source of the future,” said Wadia, a post-doctoral researcher who spearheaded the research. “Because the sun is the Earth’s most reliable and plentiful resource, solar definitely has that potential, but current solar technology may not get us there in a timeframe that is meaningful, if at all. It’s important to be optimistic, but when considering the practicalities of a solar-dominated energy system, we must turn our attention back to basic science research if we are to solve the problem.”

The most popular solar materials in use today are silicon and thin films made of CdTe (cadmium telluride) and CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide). While these materials have helped elevate solar to a major player in renewable energy markets, they are still limited by manufacturing challenges. Silicon is expensive to process and mass produce. Furthermore, it has become increasingly difficult to mine enough silicon to meet ever-growing consumer demand.

Thin films, while significantly less costly than silicon and easier to mass produce, would rapidly deplete our natural resources if these technologies were to scale to terawatt hours of annual manufacturing production. A terawatt hour is a billion kilowatt hours.

“We believe in a portfolio of technologies and therefore continue to support the commercial development of all photovoltaic technologies,” Kammen said. “Yet, what we’ve found is that some leading thin films may be difficult to scale as high as global electricity consumption.”
“It's not to say that these materials won't play a significant role,” Wadia added, “but rather, if our objective is to supply the majority of electricity in this way, we must quickly consider alternative materials that are Earth-abundant, non-toxic and cheap. These are the materials that can get us to our goals more rapidly.”

Finding an affordable electricity supply is essential for meeting basic human needs, Kammen said, yet 30 percent of the world’s population remains without reliable or sufficient electrical energy. Scientific forecasts predict that to meet the world’s energy demands by 2050, global carbon emissions would have to grow to levels of irreversible consequences.

"As the U.S. envisions a clean energy future consistent with the vision outlined by President Obama, it is exciting that the range of promising solar cell materials is expanding, ideally just as a national renewable energy strategy takes shape," said Kammen, who is co-director of the Berkeley Institute of the Environment and UC Berkeley's Class of 1935 Distinguished Chair of Energy.

The study by Wadia, Kammen and Alivisatos, available online at http://pubs.acs.org, will appear in the March print issue of Environmental Science & Technology. Wadia will discuss the report on April 14 at the upcoming spring meeting of the Materials Research Society, to be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

The work was supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Energy Foundation, the Karsten Family Foundation Endowment of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory and the Class of 1935.

Cheaper materials could be key to low-cost solar cells

Tags: Solar Cell Research, Materials Research Society, EPA, UC Berkeley, photovoltaic technologies, CdTe, cadmium telluride, copper indium gallium selenide, Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, EPA, DOE, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory