Solar Energy Breakthrough Could Cut Costs By More Than 50%
A US-based company has successfully tested a revolutionary solar panel that is expected to cut the costs of photovoltaic solar power generation by more than 50 per cent, and herald a new era of improved efficiency and lower production costs of solar energy globally.
The panel, known as the Alubond Solar Collector Panel (SCP), was created by American Building Technologies, a subsidiary of the UAE-based multinational group Mulk Holdings. Commenting on the breakthrough, a spokesman for Mulk said, “We hope the success of this project will lead to an upsurge in the development of more solar energy plants, which will not only lessen the strain on existing energy resources, but also severely reduce the pollution levels that are currently witnessed in power generation.”
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Conventional solar troughs used in solar generation are either embedded in heavy glass mirrors, weighing over 12.5 kg per sq m, or single-skin aluminium with a high-reflective laminated film, requiring heavy support structures and numerous riveting that reduces the efficiency of the troughs.
The spokesman said “Alubond SCP is a 3 mm composite weighing approximately 4 kg per sq m with a 92-per-cent reflectivity. The product’s ability to retain a parabolic shape to precise coordinates, and its lightweight features and innovative rivetless joining process, substantially reduces the substructure costs.”
The patented SCPs have already been chosen for a $200 million-plus solar energy generation plant project in New Mexico City. The company hopes that the second phase of the project, scheduled to go ‘live’ in December 2009, will have great implications for the Gulf region and Middle East energy requirements.
Image Credit - markus941 via flickr on a Creative Commons license
Wow, another cheap solar panel. Cant wait till someone starts selling them.
That is good news. When they work together with the germens who set a new worldrecord in efficiency of solarcells they can create a super solar panel.
World Record: 41.1% efficiency reached for multi-junction solar cells
http://www.stichtingmilieunet.nl/andersbekekenblog/?p=6305
Pay attention someone. This is a low cost, very low optical performance reflector system. NOT a PV cell; the photo that ran with this story is irrelevant.
Seems to be a low hurdle to be written about.
Scott_T said it. We always here of new tech coming out for solar, but prices remain about the same. Though to be fair, a lot of stuff that research has produced has been in the last few years, and its going to take a while for it to go to production, and for that production to ramp up to meaningful numbers.
I’d like to say in 10 years, solar panels will cost half of what they cost now…
I agree with Noah. Like the computer industry, the costs of most modern technologies will decrease substantively over time.We just need to get the cycle going quick enough. It’s exciting what new things are coming out.
Been hearing about this for the last 40 years and so far all it does is get fools to invest. No product and no return on investment!!!!
Energy is not free so buy some equipment that works and get to work. I did 20 years ago and I am still getting power.
[...] a whole slew of state and local solar initiatives. The researchers found that—despite the many, many reported advances to solar cell efficiency—most of the savings during this nine year period [...]