Solar power

If you want to squeeze more electricity from your solar cells, try keeping them clean for a start. The Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, know all about that: their power is significantly diminished when layers of dust build up on their solar panels, which can only be removed by a fortuitous gust of wind. Here on Earth we have the advantage of rain and dew, which can facilitate the removal of dirt and dust, allowing more light to be absorbed and converted into electricity.

A novel approach to harvesting the energy of the sun is described in a recent paper in the Journal of Applied Physics, which reports on one of the key components in the system: a solar powered laser¹.
 
 

In the race to make solar photo-voltaics (PV) an economically viable source of alternative energy, conventional cells built on silicon wafers may soon have to step aside. Researchers in the UK are devising ways of producing PV films that can be painted onto the side of buildings, which would not only offer a cheaper alternative, but that might also be more suited to less than ideal weather conditions.

Perhaps it has something to do with the high cost of fuel these days, or the increasing concern over greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, but, for whatever reason, there appears to have been an abundance of articles about solar power reported in recent weeks. The subject is approached from various angles, focusing on different aspects of the technology, but whether the stories are regarding research or development, a common thread among them is that they're all striving to make solar power as cheap as any conventional power source that currently feeds the electrical grid.