Oil prices are on a real high and silicon in a short supply. Above all the supply of conventional solar cells made from polycrystalline silicon has tightened and prices have risen as solar energy has taken off. So what’s the next best alternative? Maybe the answer is a sleek new kind of solar technology that could some day set skyscrapers and high-rise apartment windows quietly buzzing with renewable energy production. This emerging technology uses thin films mounted on the glass windows of skyscrapers and other surfaces to harness the sun’s power.
Current thin-film surfaces generate less power per area than traditional polysilicon modules, but they also use less polysilicon then conventional cells making them attractive to some of the world’s top solar panel makers.. Thin-film is cheaper to produce, more durable and more aesthetic than bulky solar panels, which are often accused of being eyesores. The transparent sheets can serve as facades for skyscrapers and housing roofs where they absorb the sun’s rays and turn it into energy. One big advantage of the thin film products is that they don’t have to use too many raw materials and is much cheaper than silicon solar wafers. Thin-film solar cells could account for up to 30 percent of the global solar cell market by 2010.
Via: Reuters
