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32 Comments
- MarkusX, on 12/12/2008, -1/+20The market would maybe migrate over, if just ONE of these recent solar cell inventions, that seem to pop up just about every week, would hit store shelves already.
- wonderchemist, on 12/12/2008, -0/+8We already make solar cells out of silicon and silicon is the second most abundant material in the Earth's crust.
- benologist, on 12/12/2008, -0/+6MIT.... and everybody else hungry to own a share of a guaranteed trillion dollar industry.
*yawn* - snagra, on 12/12/2008, -0/+6NO!
- FaithclubDotNet, on 12/12/2008, -0/+3There is going to be a huge production once solar starts becoming cost efficient. First it will become standardized. Then it will be produced at a high rate! The reason the rate will be so high is that everyone knows that this huge production will happen and they'll invest mad amounts of money into it. Even if money doesn't get directly invested, there is still going to be a huge profit margin that will allow the solar manufacturers to ramp up production. The profit will come from the energy companies that buy the solar material and sell to the public on the grid already.
My hope is that the production not only covers where solar is profitable, but there is so much made that 3rd world countries finally get electricity.
The company that I am watching to do this huge production is nanosolar.com. They haven't even went public yet. - ksadya, on 12/12/2008, -0/+3Yes, silicon, but the material that solar cells are made of is polysilicon. This material requires immense refinement and quality control. See http://www.hokuscientific.com/solarbasics.html for more info about the Solar cell production process.
- ksadya, on 12/12/2008, -0/+36B people in the world, requiring on average 0.5 KW of energy/day; at a cost of $2000 for solar technology... yes, a trillion dollar industry indeed. And even with a reduction in cost of 1KW to a more appropriate $500; it's still very close to a $1T USD industry.
- satanatnmtedu, on 12/12/2008, -0/+3Everyone is looking and has been looking for a cheaper alternative to existing cell technology. Why is it that putting "MIT" in front gives this story any significance?
- nick111, on 12/12/2008, -0/+3Is it possible for humans to fail Turing tests?
- ksadya, on 12/12/2008, -0/+2no need for name calling. what are we, 3?
- ksadya, on 12/12/2008, -0/+2Agreed. There's also going to be an abundance of polisilicon in the coming years as lots of polisilicon refinement facilities come online. The increased availability of polisilicon will lead to an increase in production of solar cells, which should lead to a decrease in price.
- mos6507, on 12/12/2008, -0/+2Foolish mortal. Solar panels aren't sold on store shelves.
- antc1986, on 12/12/2008, -0/+2Berkeley all the way whatwhat. but seriously, they are all great schools - stop hating and start learning from each other. that's what research is all about.
- inactive, on 12/12/2008, -1/+3good, we'll need the technology. Man-made global warming is a fraud. the Sun is not as active.
- inactive, on 12/12/2008, -0/+2I hope that doesn't go on about doping again..
- inactive, on 12/12/2008, -0/+2Basalt?
- ksadya, on 12/12/2008, -0/+2input: evidence
output: contradiction
Turing status: fail. - Search153, on 12/12/2008, -0/+2Great news. I can't wait to convert my home to photovoltaic solar/wind hybrid off-the-grid self-sufficient dwelling, and say F-U power company, you buy MY excess power now!
- ksadya, on 12/12/2008, -0/+2You should'a posted a link to Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysilicon - waldo21, on 12/12/2008, -0/+1MIT also just developed a new photonic crystal silicon solar cell *(thin film) that is less expensive and more efficient: http://digg.com/environment/New_Si_solar_cell_much ...
Silicon is definitely here to stay, espcially since it serves both the solar and semiconductor market. That overlap allows polysilicon manufacturers to hedge there bets and also just run one line to server both industries.
While these new technologies always just seem to be around the corner, the price of polysilicon is plumetting, so expect to see cheaper panels on the horizon. Polysilicon prices are now around $200 / kg from the peak of $700 / kg. In march I posted an entry why the prices would fall within the next two years, and the price decline is now beginning. Panel prices are likely to drop 20-30% (see links below).
Note: links below are not intended as spam, but it is more efficient to just direct to the post, than to put everything here in the comments.
See: http://waldo21a.wordpress.com/3-reasons-the-price- ...
http://waldo21a.wordpress.com/2008/12/12/an-update ... - sponeil, on 12/12/2008, -1/+2I don't think many people will believe a statement like that coming from someone who can't even spell the word "The" correctly.
They probably wouldn't believe it coming from someone named "kookbutt", either. - rizzo2008, on 12/12/2008, -0/+1Global warming aside petroleum reserves are limited and we NEED an energy source to replace this completely within our lifetimes (known petroleum reserves will be depleted in the next 30-40 years at current consumption rates).
- ksadya, on 12/12/2008, -1/+2Nay-sayers be darned, incl. you! STFU. Man-made global warming is the most sound theory explaining the global increase in both insitu and average ocean temperature and increasingly extreme weather cycles.
What harm can be done by reducing the destruction of the planet? And if it's proven that humans did cause global warming, what then? It's like believing in Jehovah: Believe because if you're wrong, nothing bad happens, but if you're right, your future is immensely better. If you happen to be a non-believer, if you're right, no benefit, but if you're wrong, hell awaits you.
Act in accordance with your desired outcome. If you want to condemn your grand children to starvation, dehydration and brain damage from the incredible heat, well F you, you sh.t bag POS! If you do what you can to help out, to reduce your impact, well then you've done the best you can. - inactive, on 12/16/2008, -0/+0Good luck, we've been trying to make these things cheap for years
- iisabelle, on 12/13/2008, -0/+0Solar cells take up too much space to be viable as our primary source of energy. To capture a large enough amount of solar energy, the area of cells required would be enormous.
Also, incoming solar radiation is unevenly distributed around the world. Areas near the poles go through long periods of total darkness. It is unrealistic to think that solar power can be a primary source.
A more realistic approach is to first focus on conservation and adaptation. We must change our patterns of consumption. Then, a combination of renewable energy sources (solar, wind, ocean, geothermal, etc.) would be the best bet to provide us with energy. - dengzhi, on 12/12/2008, -2/+2caltech sux compared to MIT
- inactive, on 12/16/2008, -0/+0Single time use things are great for money but bad for the environment. We have to figure that out. Also, what better way to make sure we live sustainably than to minimize population? And why spend all that money on NASA when we could be feeding people?
Our patterns of consumption are based on personal gain. We gotta turn that on it's head. - fapturbous, on 03/11/2009, -0/+0Amazing that photosynthesis in "lowly" plants can so cheaply convert sunlight to chemical energy...
Nelson
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… … … … … |. . . . . . . . .. . . . |http://www.paramegsoft.com/forum/ . . . . . . . /. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - davidg11, on 12/12/2008, -4/+2How about making it out of a material called H2O?
I heard it might be abundant here on earth. - 300thSpartan, on 12/12/2008, -5/+2I wanna go to MIT.
Not for the name though, I only started hoping I would get in when I saw their economics program. - inactive, on 12/12/2008, -8/+3Losers goto MIT because of the name. There real research goes on at CalTech
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