Solar technology has evolved in leaps and bounds over time, with new technologies being deployed every day and design ideas that were once thought to be out of reach are now being used. Here are the top 10 solar technologies to watch, some of which are still in the experimental stage but are sure to see practical applications in the near future:
1. Water-cooled solar panels
Pyron Solar Triad has designed a special short-focal, acrylic Solar collector lens. Sunlight reflected and refracted in this lens effectively concentrates energy into a single point. The second lens captures the energy from the first lens and focuses it on a small photovoltaic panel. The company says its HE OPTICS SYSYTEM system produces 800 times more power than a silicon solar panel of the same size.
2. Convert solar energy into hydrogen
In 2009, Daniel Nocera, a professor at M.I.T., founded a company with the goal of commercializing a "water-splitting" and solar-energy storage technology. "The idea is to use solar panels to generate electricity for an electrolytic cell, which can produce hydrogen that can be stored in a fuel tank and then drive the fuel cell to generate electricity when people need it," Nocerre said.
3. Solar roof panels and brushable solar panels
It has long been imagined that installing solar panels could be as easy as laying roof tiles, or that solar paint could be applied to a roof as paintbrush. In fact, this idea is already being realized, with a solar-powered coating called silicon ink. The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory says solar cells using the technology can already convert 18 percent of the sun's Energy into electricity. Dow Chemical says its solar roof tiles will be ready for small-scale production by mid-2010 and mass production by 2011.
4. Large thin film solar cells
SunFab System's thin-film solar panels are based on thin-film technology, using amorphous silicon solar panels to build the world's largest and most productive thin-film solar panels. This can reduce the cost of materials and combine it with the most advanced manufacturing techniques in the solar industry. It is reported that the company's thin-film solar panels are mainly frameless design, thus solving the two main problems of thin film solar panels poor waterproof effect and long use time will lead to the structural integrity of the panel.
5, organic solar collector
MIT scientists have found a way to turn ordinary glass into a high-end solar collector. The technology is complex but low cost. Using coated glass panels to collect sunlight that is not absorbed by the surface of solar cells, scientists have turned ordinary mirrors into solar collectors, and even the glass of buildings could be used to absorb energy. GreenSun has also developed a multicolored solar panel that can collect light energy without pointing it directly at the sun.
6. Space solar energy technology
Japan is currently developing a giant space solar power plant. Over the next 30 years, the device is expected to beam solar energy to Earth from orbit 36,000 kilometers above the earth. The Japanese government will spend $21 billion to support the project, which mainly involves building a solar power station with four square kilometers of solar panels. The plant is expected to generate 1 gigawatt of electricity, enough to power nearly 300,000 homes in Tokyo.
Solar road
The idea is to develop solar panels that look like floor tiles and lay them on the road. These panels are constantly collecting light and generating electricity, lighting roads at night and warming roads in winter, and selling a lot of surplus power to homes and businesses. Scott Brusaw, the inventor of the technology, estimates that such panels could power up to 500 homes per mile, at a cost of as little as $5,000 for each 12-by-12-foot panel.
8. Concentrated solar energy technology
Stirling Energy Systems' SunCatcher solar collection System will be launched in Arizona, marking the first commercial deployment of the world's most efficient solar technology. The SunCatcher solar collection system consists of a solar collector and an array of curved glass mirrors arranged in a dish. The system uses disks of glass mirrors, each capable of generating 25,000 watts of electricity, to capture sunlight and heat the efficient Stirling Engine.
Nano solar technology
Researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, have used efficient photovoltaic materials and durable carbon nanotube fibers to create light-absorbing nanowires and embed them in a relatively tough polyester film to produce solar panels. Such solar panels would be more flexible and cheaper than current photovoltaic panels. A team of researchers from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southampton in the UK has also taken inspiration from photosynthesis in plants to create a new photovoltaic device that efficiently converts light energy into electricity.
10. Integrated solar technology
Akeena Solar's Andalay AC Solar panels are a combination of Akeena Solar's patented steel frame assembly, wiring assembly and electrical grounding assembly. Akeena Solar says this adds stability to the system, saving users thousands of dollars in maintenance costs over its 30-year design life. Andalay AC solar panels provide users with safe ALTERNATING current and are much easier and safer to install due to an 80% reduction in components and those complex and dangerous dc wiring. Andalay AC solar panel technology was hailed as the most popular major mechanical invention of 2009.
Another solar technology that can't go unnoticed is a solar balloon developed by CoolEarth. The balloon is made of a metal plastic membrane that is half transparent to allow efficient solar panels inside to capture light energy. The balloon, which is eight feet in diameter, was designed with architectural tensegrity and a suspension system underneath it to keep it stable.