Michigan State University (MSU) scientists are using a $1.9 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to fine tune the science behind solar panel development that could result in more effective, cheaper solar panels.
“Today’s solar panels are based on science that was worked out when the Beatles’ ‘Good Day Sunshine’ was new to the airwaves,” says chemistry Professor James McCusker, the project leader. “Their primary light absorber, silicon, is extremely pure and costly.”
The silicon used in solar panels is very abundant, but processing the silicon is expensive and so solar panels haven’t reached a price point acceptable to most consumers.
“The reason solar energy is not part of the long term alternative energy mix is that it’s too expensive,” he says. “In terms of abundant energy, solar energy by far trumps any other alternative energy on earth.”
The researchers are developing a solar cell based on a design that combines a dye with an inexpensive semiconductor — titanium dioxide — instead of silicon. Titanium dioxide is an opaque white pigment commonly used in paint and other consumer products.
Applying advanced materials and nanoparticle technology can make electron conduction more efficient and potentially drive down solar panel costs.
The three-year grant comes from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act monies.
Source: James McCusker, MSU
Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.
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