{"id":6340,"date":"2022-08-15T04:45:53","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T04:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/euromenaenergy.com\/?p=6340"},"modified":"2022-08-15T04:45:53","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T04:45:53","slug":"cheaper-changing-crucial-the-rise-of-solar-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/?p=6340","title":{"rendered":"Cheaper, changing, crucial: the rise of solar power"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

AFP\/Paris<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Generating power from sunlight bouncing off the ground, working at night, even helping to grow strawberries: solar panel technology is evolving fast as costs plummet for a key segment of the world\u2019s energy transition.
\nThe International Energy Agency says solar will have to scale up significantly this decade to meet the Paris climate target of limiting temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
\nThe good news is that costs have fallen dramatically.
\nIn a report on solutions earlier this year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said solar unit costs had dropped 85 percent between 2010 and 2019, while wind fell 55%.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s some claim that it\u2019s the cheapest way humans have ever been able to make electricity at scale,\u201d said Gregory Nemet, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a lead author on that report.
\nExperts hope the high fossil fuel prices and fears over energy security caused by Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine will accelerate the uptake of renewables.
\nMomentum gathered pace last Sunday with the ambitious US climate bill, which earmarks $370bn in efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030.
\nAn analysis by experts at Princeton University estimates the bill could see five times the rate of solar additions in 2025 as there were in 2020.
\nNemet said solar alone could plausibly make up half of the world\u2019s electricity system by mid-century, although he cautioned against looking for \u201csilver bullets\u201d.
\n\u201cI think there really is big potential,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n

Rapid changes\u00a0<\/strong>
\nThe \u201cphotovoltaic effect\u201d \u2014 the process by which solar cells convert sunlight to electrical energy \u2014 was first discovered in 1839 by the French physicist Edmond Becquerel.
\nAfter decades of innovations, silicon-based solar cells started to be developed in the United States in the 1950s, with the world\u2019s first solar-powered satellite launched in 1958.
\nThe IPCC said of all energy technologies, small-scale ones like solar and batteries have so far proved quicker to improve and be adopted than bulkier options like nuclear.
\nToday, almost all of the panels glimmering on rooftops and spreading across vast fields are made in China using silicon semiconductors.
\nBut the technology is changing quickly.
\nIn a recent report, the IEA said these new solar cells have proven to be one-fifth more efficient in converting light to energy than standard modules installed just four or five years ago.
\nThere are also a host of new materials and hybrid cells that experts predict could supercharge efficiency.
\nThese include cheap, efficient and lightweight \u201cthin film\u201d technologies, like those using perovskites that can be printed from inks.
\nExperts say they raise the prospect of dramatically expanding where solar energy can be harvested \u2014 if they can be made durable enough to withstand a couple of decades of use.
\nRecent research has raised hopes that it could be possible.
\nIn one study, published in the journal Science in April, scientists added metal-containing materials to perovskite cells, making them more stable with efficiency near traditional silicon models.
\nOther research mixes materials for different purposes.
\nOne study in Nature used \u201ctandem\u201d models, with perovskite semiconductors to absorb near-infrared light on the solar spectrum, while an organic carbon-based material absorbed ultraviolet and visible parts of the light.
\nAnd what happens after sunset?
\nResearchers from Stanford said this year they had produced a solar cell that could harvest energy overnight, using heat leaking from Earth back into space.
\n\u201cI think that there\u2019s a lot of creativity in this industry,\u201d said Ron Schoff, who heads the Electric Power Research Institute\u2019s Renewable Energy and Fleet Enabling Technologies research.<\/p>\n

Location, location\u00a0<\/strong>
\nGenerating more energy from each panel will become increasingly crucial as solar power is rolled out at greater scale, raising concerns about land use and harm to ecosystems.
\nSchoff said one efficiency-boosting design that is becoming more popular for large-scale projects is \u201cbifacial\u201d solar.
\nThese double-sided units absorb energy not just directly from the sun\u2019s rays, but also from light reflected off the ground beneath.
\nOther solutions involve using the same space for multiple purposes \u2014 like semi-transparent solar panels used as a protective roof for strawberry plants or other crops.
\nIndia pioneered the use of solar panels over canals a decade ago, reducing evaporation as they generate power.
\nScientists in California have said that if the drought-prone US state shaded its canals, it could save around 63bn gallons.
\nConstruction on a pilot project is due to begin this year.<\/p>\n

All shapes, sizes\u00a0<\/strong>
\nExperts say solar will be among a mix of energy options, with different technologies more suitable for different places.
\nSchoff said ultimately those energy grids with more than 25% solar and wind need ways to store energy \u2014 with batteries or large-scale facilities using things like pumped water or compressed air.
\nConsumers can also play their part, said Nemet, by shifting more of their energy use to daytime periods, or even hosting their own solar networks in an Airbnb-style approach.
\nHe said the modular nature of solar means it can be rolled out in developing countries with sparse access to traditional grids.
\n\u201cYou could have solar on something as small as a watch and something as big as the biggest power plants in the world,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cI think that\u2019s what\u2019s making people excited about it.\u201d \u2014 Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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