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Solar goes Hyper in the U.S.
HyperSolar magnifying film can increase solar panel efficiency by up to 300%, making solar competitive with fossil fuels.
Wed, Feb 09 2011 at 3:08 PM
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Image courtesy of HyperSolar
As the U.S. government continues to heap billions in subsidies to the world's wealthiest coal and oil companies, the solar industry has been struggling to make it in the United States. This is sad for many reasons, not the least of which is that we're missing out on one of the biggest growth industries in the world.
Currently there are 16 gigawatts of installed solar power globally. That number will grow to about 1,800 gigawatts in the next 20 years, making it one of the best job creators. U.S. engineers invented the solar panel, and the U.S. should be dominating that market. Instead, foreign manufacturers (particularly in China) have taken our IP and run with it, as we become increasingly dependent on foreign oil and dirty coal operations to meet our power needs.
Fortunately HyperSolar, a new U.S. company, offers a ray of sunny hope on the clean energy frontier.
The company does not manufacture solar panels. It makes them ultra-efficient using a field of science called photonics. Similar to a microchip that moves individual bits of data around at hyperspeed, HyperSolar's thin magnifying film routes and separates specific light spectrums, delivering them exactly where they're needed to make an array of PV solar cells ultra-efficient.
I saw an early prototype for such a magnifying optical layer a few years back, but the company was "dark" at the time, so I couldn't write about the innovation. But I'm as excited now as I was then for good reason — HyperSolar's optical layer can increase PV efficiency by up to 300 percent!
Theoretically that means cutting the installation cost of a solar array in half. Instead of a home solar system costing $30,000 (or more) it would only cost $15,000 (or less), making the upfront investment much lower and payback periods much quicker.
This is a great example of a disruptive technology that could get us to the holy grail of "grid parity" — meaning that solar would be as affordable as other sources of energy like coal and natural gas. And no more polluting coal mines or fracking for natural gas! The sun (for at least the next 5 billion years) will provide free and abundant energy. It's up to us whether we want to invest in that technology or continue to destroy our beautiful landscapes for a few more years of "cheap" (i.e. heavily subsidized) coal.
Innovations like this make several recent reports ring true. If we have the political will to overcome the stranglehold of the fossil fuel industry on our nation's energy policy, we could become 100 percent renewably powered in a 2030-2050 time frame. Check out these two reports and a new study by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) about how large-scale wind power is now cost-competitive with natural gas:
- Physorg.com: 100 percent renewables by 2030
- WWF: 100 percent renewables (no nuclear) by 2050
- AWEA: Wind cost-competitive with gas
So, what do you think? Can we kick the fossil fuel habit?
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And when the sun doesn't shine? Storage of solar energy is the problem.
Of course the energy produced by solar can be stored or even better can be sold back into the grid, if you produce more than what you need.
Don't comment on what you don't know.
Some power companies do net metering, meaning instead of investing in batteries one would draw from the power company at night and use one's own solar power during the day, and also feed the grid. As I understand it, using net metering may also make one eligible for rebates or tax credits.
I have 20 years engineering experence and I have many pattents too. I develop better solar systems than this and I know a lot about concentrate solar sun and the way to make energy too. Just come too my company and we will make this better because I know a lot and we have the smarts to make this better.We have manny engineers and i manufacter and design many tools and solar bikes too.
I'm located in Michigan and I want to contact you regarding solar systems.
Please contact me @ my e-mail address dumitru.taut@geometricglobal.com
Wow, you really are smart. I will give you the benefit of the doubt and say that you are probably not a native English speaking individual. Your spelling and grammar need to be edited.
If your company is as good as you say it is, I would suggest that you would be well served by recruiting someone to market your product. Your comment does little to instill confidence in the general public.
Look at all you anti-solar trolls. It would not be so noticeable were it not for the fact that I find it hard to believe THIS MANY AMERICANS have such strong "anti-solar" tendencies. Careful boys, I can hear the lobbyist change jingle in your pockets..
After going through a few of the comments and debunking them, I concluded the same thing.
The evil spirits are shaking, knowing very well their destiny in their hell cages.
Since when does the front page of CNN link to solar technology hoaxes? Wow.
What a joke
Go to their website and there are only 2 employees and neither of them have any technical background. One has advertising experience and the other real estate. No engineers in the bunch. Seen these kinds of companies before and all they are are cash cows for the owners.
What these sorts of pseudo-companies are designed to do is attract R&D money. Some of them turn into real companies, and some don't. I work for one, so I know what they're all about...
BTW, Nadir Dagli is their chief scientist.
There are 3 biographies on the website. An investor/CEO, a PHD photonic's professor, and an optical engineer. So where's the scam?
a scam starts that way too. Not saying it is one, but many look more plausible with those titles in the board of directors.
A family member in the 1920s had a shelf next to a window with a lovely display of glass vases. One day, the light focus started a fire in the curtains. Focused light can be very dangerous; broken glass can start forest fires. Fires that start under roofs and attics are often not known until a house is engulfed. What safety precautions are being made? Solar energy is a good idea, but needs care.
Solar panels do not focus light. They use cells that covert the light energy in electricity. The film will lay on top of these cells so there will be no danger. Like windOw tint it seems.
Is there a comment section anywhere on the internet where an actual discussion takes place?
Try www.LinkedIn.com. Lots of engineers having reasonable discussions, with a few snake oil salesmen thrown in.
Is there a comment section anywhere on the internet where an actual discussion takes place?
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