Why perovskites could be the key to cheap, efficient solar energy
coloradosun.com
coloradosun.com
So, who's right? Is the article overstating the stability problem or are these companies over-promising?
[1] - https://sauletech.com/technology/
[2] - https://sauletech.com/faq/
[3] - https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/06/29/1027451/perovski...
I think neither. "Several years" is still a huge problem. That's way too short.
Just thinking aloud, but think about a (very, very) large (traditional) camera, you have this roll of film that you advance one frame at the time, and then expose to sunlight.
Once every - say - two or three years, when it doesn't produce anymore enough electricity, you advance one frame and once every (say) ten or twenty years, you change the film roll.
You could integrate solar stuff into structures. Then it probably has to be pretty long lived. This is because solar is getting cheap anyway and it doesn't cost much more to make a wall a solar panel while you're building a wall anyway - most of the cost of the panel is the supporting structure and installation anyway - which have to be there for the wall and are thus paid for already.
On the other hand maybe you can have flimsy solar stuff that's more like an umbrella or parasol or awning and could be replaced every few years. You could have it even leased. Return the old one for recycling. Maybe it's taken off during the winter entirely. It's dark in the winter anyway and it would be too expensive to make it so sturdy that it can handle snow. If it's destroyed by a storm, no big deal, get a new one.
We have a work bee twice per year where a lot of people from the condominium company trim bushes, fell trees, rake, pick up waste etc. Why not put up a few solar panels on top of the garages for the summer at the same time? And take them off in October then.
However this is not good enough when 25+ Years lifetime is required (residential or utility scale).
Another niche use case is quantum glass by ML System. Generate energy from windows. Great for IoT, smart windows, new buildings, cars, but energy density is fraction of typical PV panels.
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S20954... "Perovskite – A wonder catalyst for solar hydrogen production Jun 2021"
That certainly is...a sentence.
The regular price for monocrystalline silicon solar panels is around $0.21/watt on Alibaba ([1]), not including shipping from China (which may vary, depends on the volume, destination and current rates).
1. https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/550w-600w-latest-half...
there is a scheme of the government who give subsidized solar water pumps at a installed price of $0.12/watt" for the solar panels, water pump, fixtures, wiring, instalation, labour, spares. i plan to "request" farmer friends to buy me 10-15Kwh worth of panels which i plan to install at my home
That comment was made well over 40 years ago.
- stability when exposed to oxygen (as in they don't last in the real world)
- lead (disposal issues, which are important because they don't last)
Have things improved recently? I'm going to assume that the "Colorado Sun" won't represent state of the art.