According to the reports of REN21 (Renewable Energy Network for the 21st Century), it was shown that global investments in renewable energy jumped 32% bringing an all time high of $211 billion, despite the current downturn of the economy. However, in many regions there is a big competition between the two odds of renewable & coal energy. But with the advancement of solar technology increasing every year with the latest solar development researched currently at MIT, it is likely coal will be going against it anytime soon. Here is a list of 5 development that could make a big impact towards our society as well as our economy that could also be safely executed against the burning of coal.
1. Nano-templated molecules that store energy
A professor named Jeffrey Grossman, associated with MIT, discovered and created a new molecule called azobenzene that uses carbon nanotubes structuring the molecules that locks in and stores clean solar thermal energy. These molecules so called, "azobenzen", converts solar energy to a density of a lithium ion battery. Like what people say, "kill two birds with one stone", you have yourself a object that converts and stores infinite energy.
2.Printing solar cells on possibly anything
A team led by Professor Karen Gleason discovered a way to imprint a solar cell into just about anything you could think of, using low temperature and vapor as opposed to liquid solutions. The paper imprinted with the solar cell is also highly durable withstanding it being folded a 1000 times with no change in performance. Imagine having solar cells imprinted all over your shirt and having to charge your mobile phone that remains in your pocket, that would be pretty awesome don't you think?
Photo by Patrick Gillooly, Courtesy of MIT
3. Solar Thermal Power in flat panels
Professor Gang Chen discovered a whole new way to make solar power. Unlike ordinary solar panels that has been going on for some time now, Professor Gang Chen discovered a revolutionary new way to produce solar energy -micro solar thermal- in which theoretically could produce 8 times the efficiency of the world's best solar panel that are being manufactured today. Therefore, having it be a thermal process, Chen's system can heat up from ambient light even on a cloudy day. It is said that these panels can be made with very inexpensive and affordable material that could be appealing to many investors.
4. A virus to improve nano-solar cell efficiency
MIT graduate recently engineered a virus called "M13", that could effectively convert solar energy at a more efficient rate, jumping from 8% to 10.6% efficency, boosting the rate to almost nearly one-third. The virus acts as a matching tool that pattern the nanotubes properly at a faster rate.
5. Transparent solar cell could turn windows into power plants
See yourself in a skyscraper built with glass that could bind with the sun's rays while keeping their transparency? Well unfortunately several of these attempts had been made, resulting in terrible efficiency bringing it down less that 1% and also resulted in blocking too much light, depicting the glass useless. However, Professor electrical engineering professor Vladimir Bulvoic has made a breakthrough by engineering a new transparent layer of PV cells into the window glazing. The MIT team believes it can reach a high efficiency of 12% at a reduced cost over thin film solar cells. A team of researchers from UCLA had also developed a new kind of solar cell that is both efficient and transparent called the polymer solar cell that is almost 70% transparent and could generate energy through infrared light.
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