Originally published July 26 2005
Companies develop thin, flexible solar panels
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
As three companies use nanotechnology to develop thin plastic sheets of solar cells to be incorporated into building in rooftops as solar energy devices, an Energy Foundation report says solar energy could provide much of the country's electricity if available residential and commercial rooftops are used efficiently.
Investors along Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park are pouring money into solar nanotech startups, hoping that thinking small will translate into big profits.
Both inventors and investors are betting that flexible sheets of tiny solar cells used to harness the sun's strength will ultimately provide a cheaper, more efficient source of energy than the current smorgasbord of alternative and fossil fuels.
These rolls, the companies say, will be able to provide energy for prices as low as the electricity currently provided by utilities, which averages $1 per watt.
Other uses of nanotechnology foreseen by Konarka, Nanosolar and Nanosys include form-fitting plastic batteries for electronic devices like cell phones and laptops.
While all three companies provide prototypes for large corporate research labs and government agencies, company representatives and investors are reticent to predict when nanotechnology-powered solar systems will be commercially available.
Industry watchers, however, say that achieving mass production of these products may take five years or longer.
Venture capitalist excitement for these new technologies reflects growth in the solar energy market as whole, say industry experts.
"The technology is maturing, and the industry is maturing.
The Energy Foundation report also says that solar energy could furnish much of the nation's electricity if available residential and commercial rooftops were fully utilized.
They (venture capitalists) see the growth and the possibilities," she said.
"It took 20 to 25 years to commercialize (conventional) photovoltaics," she said.
High production costs are among the reasons solar energy hasn't become a major source of electricity.
Each printed nanostructure solar cell would act as an autonomous solar collector, and sheets of these products would have more surface area to gather light than conventional photovoltaic cells.
The companies also say that the printed rolls of solar cells would be lighter, more resilient and flexible than silicon photovoltaics.
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