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PUBLISHER'S LETTER
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Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD
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2 Silicon Chip
Solar cells becoming
ever more efficient
Solar cells are one of those products which
are a bit of a sleeper. Sure they’re handy if you
have a boat or a recreational vehicle and they
do a good job of keeping your batteries charged
if you are away from mains power. And they
are increasingly being used for remote communications. Apart from that though, they
are bit of a yawn aren’t they? They’re still too
expensive to contemplate for power generation unless you are “out in the sticks” and so
most people don’t even think about them. Or
at least, I don’t.
But recently, there was a news item which made me sit up and take
notice. That famous solar cell development team at the University of
NSW, comprising Professors Martin Green and Stuart Wenham and their
devoted research staff, have just been awarded the Australia Prize. This
is the nation’s most prestigious and valuable science prize, worth a total
of $350,000.
They received the prize for their continuing work on solar cells. Currently, they have pushed solar cell technology to an efficiency of 24.5%.
20 years ago, 15% was the accepted limit. Now, using present technology,
they reckon 28.8% is the limit but they are continuing their work to push
it further. They are also predicting that the cost could eventually drop to
$1 per watt.
Now these figures mean that we are getting to the point where solar cells
must be regarded as a mainstream energy source. An efficiency of 25% certainly rivals that for the whole coal/energy generation/distribution process,
especially when the cost of coal extraction is considered. But solar power
has the virtues that it is continuously renewable and does not continually
contribute to air pollution or carbon dioxide emissions.
More importantly, an efficiency of 25% means that solar panels will get
a lot smaller than they are today while their output rises. This means that
you could have a 5kW or 10kW array which would fit on or be part of the
roof of an average house. And at a dollar per watt, the cost would be only a
small part of the cost of a new house.
Sure, there are still batteries to consider but you can see that, probably
within the next 10 years or so, a completely solar-powered house would be
a practical possibility in most parts of Australia. You would probably rely
on solar collectors for hot water but the rest of the electric load, including
air-conditioning, could be handled by solar cells.
Those sorts of figures could also be applied to the majority of offices in
Australia, particularly when you consider that most of the workload is
carried out during daylight hours.
In colder, less sunny parts of Australia, where domestic heating is pretty
crucial, natural gas would be the natural choice for its efficient and low
pollution outcome.
Does this mean that many Australian houses and offices could eventually
do without electricity from coal-powered generators? The answer is clearly
yes. In the long-term, that must be a good result for everyone.
Leo Simpson
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