Nasdaq, Solar Energy Breakthrough Could Drop Consumer Price

University of California Berkeley Professor Ali Javey has discovered a new, lower cost method for producing the powerful semiconductors that are used in high-efficiency solar cells. The electrical engineering and computer science professor’s reports suggest that by lowering these costs and creating a more efficient product, the cost of solar panels for consumers will also drop.

• Solar energy is appealing as a clean, renewable energy source but it is not always economically competitive with traditional fossil fuels.
• Professor Ali Jarvey has produced solar cells that increase efficiency to 25% compared to the 18% of conventional solar cells, thus decreasing the amount of cells needed per solar panel.
• Currently high-efficiency cells have semi-conductors that use an expensive crystal which is exposed to vapors in order to create a film to cover the solar cells.
• Professor Jarvey has created a film for the semi-conductors using metal or glass and he has found an inexpensive vapor to use in the process.
• The production process is still in the early stages and Professor Jarvey says there is much work still to do before the semiconductors will be ready for mass production.
• The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has studied Professor Jarvey’s work and has indicated that with the materials he is using he could produce high-efficiencey solar cells that would cost approximately the same as conventional solar cells.

Article Link: NASDAQ