Solar Cells Meets New World Record Efficiency

        Researchers at the German Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems have achieved a new world record for the conversion of sunlight into electricity using a new solar cell structure with four solar subcells. It took three years of research on this particular solar technology to hit the new world record of 44.7%, an efficiency that is getting the world of solar technology tantalizingly close to 50%.
        Just four months ago in May 2013, the group of researchers at the institute were able to achieve an efficiency of 43.6% with the technology. This type of solar cell is used in concentrator photovoltaics (CPV). Phys.org reports, "The terresterial use of so-called III-V multi-junction solar cells, which originally came from space technology, has prevailed to realize highest efficiencies for the conversion of sunlight to electricity. In this multi-junction solar cell, several cells made out of different III-V semiconductor materials are stacked on top of each other. The single subcells absorb different wavelength ranges of the solar spectrum."
       The solar cells developed in the Fraunhofer labs are manufactured by Soitec. So far, the company has produced solar cells for installations in Italy, France, South Africa and California, as well as in 14 other countries.

Google itself Helps Solar Energy Project

      Involved in its green energy investments, Google has set its eyes on the Jasper Power Project, a South African solar power plant. This investment alone totals to $12 million and claims to be the first project that Google has invested in, pertaining to the location being Africa. However, the $12 million investment provided by Google is not the total investments spent for South Africa for many investors are involved in this as well.
      The Jasper Power Project will be a photovoltaic plant, which will have the capacity to generate 96 megawatts of clean energy for residents of South Africa. The project will not only help meet the country's renewable energy goals but also provide long-term jobs and economic development opportunities.
     "Back in 2008, South Africa experienced a severe energy shortage, which resulted in blackouts throughout the country and slowed down economic growth," writes Google energy and sustainability director Rick Needman on May 30, 2013. "Since then, the South African government has been actively supporting the growth of new sources of electricity to power the nation ... Given South Africa's position  as an economic powerhouse in Africa, a greener grid in South Africa can set an example for the whole continent."

The Jasper Power Project is located in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, near Potmasburg

Once constructed, the project will use solar panels such as these

Startup's Goal: To Advance Solar Energy in Developing Countries

    At age 19, Eden Full had left Princeton University to develop her invention, the SunSaluter. The $25 solar-panel rotator, which she claims can increase a solar panel's efficiency by up to 40%, is designed to benefit those in developing countries because it is easy to assemble and doesn't require electricity. To start up such an invention, she has spent the last two years attending a schedule of client meetings, research and design, and field testing underwritten by the Ashoka Foundation, the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge, and the Thiel Fellowship, which provides no-strings-attached grants of $100,000 to promising young startups.
     While her company, Roseicollis Technologies Inc., generates enough revenue to cover costs, it's expanding in terms of size and reach. She has one full-time employee and three part-time designers and project developers, and is working on partnerships with organizations in South Africa, Indonesia, Kenya, and the Philippines. In 2011, she also has been featured on Forbes' list of 30 promising energy innovators under 30.
      This month, Full had made an appearance on a panel at the Clinton Global Initiative University, an annual event that gathers enterprising college students and big names such as Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and the Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert, to discuss the future of electricity. She is currently aged 21 and living in Berkeley, California, where she plans to return to Princeton University in the Fall while managing her team in between classes via Skype.

Eden Full

      Recently, Full has also been chosen for an interview by Entrepreneur to clarify reasons of how she was able to think of such a brilliant idea as well as having experiences being a young student to suddenly being an entrepreneur. She had discussed that her "first experiment was a desktop solar car I built at age 10, and I kept experimenting from there. I brought the idea of the SunSaluter to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair my junior year in high school, and the girl next to me was from Indonesia. She said 'This is a cool idea. You should deploy it in my country because everywhere outside of Jakarta lacks electricity.' I was so open-minded at the time. It was the first suggestion that came along and it happened to be a good one."
      When asked to also comment on how life has been after Princeton and the benefits and drawbacks of stepping outside the traditional education barrier, she replied, "I felt a lot of freedom to finally be out in the real world and do what I wanted. I moved to the Bay Area. I could say, 'Hi, I don't have a college degree but I'm working on this.' People don't even bat an eye. Thanks to Ashoka Foundation, I had the funding to travel the globe and see what communities in the developing world are like, so I can design something that's relevant to them. We also won an award from the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge that we've directed toward product development and team building."
       Finally, as the interview draws to a close, she comments advice as well to other future entrepreneurs of all ages who are thinking of stepping outside the traditional path: "It can be scary to question one's life trajectory and make a decision to change it. But one of the best things I ever did was learn not to live the default." Therefore, any other future entrepreneurs out there, who also believe they can make it far, don't be afraid to step out. If you think you're able to succeed, then show others you can.