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Transparent and truly transparent solar windows can open the door to a new clean energy revolution, while protecting farmland and natural habitats.
The idea of a transparent solar window sounds too good to be true, but it is not entirely true. For many years, researchers have been struggling to meet the challenge of using sunlight to generate electricity from transparent windows. The prize is a new site for building solar panels on the building without losing the energy-saving advantage of daylighting. Looking at any glass building, you can almost feel the bloom of possibilities. There are many obstacles, but it seems that the real breakthrough is finally in sight, so to speak.
Transparent solar cells have been jumping around the CleanTechnica radar since at least 2010, when the possibility of making transparent solar windows began to emerge with thin-film solar technology.
Thin-film solar technology is just what its name suggests. Unlike the rigid and bulky solar panels that no one can see, the thin-film platform involves the manufacture of flexible solar cells in the form of a solution that can be truly coated on various surfaces to allow sunlight to pass through.
An early barrier between fully transparent solar cells and the commercial market is the expansion of laboratory samples to marketable sizes.
This problem has begun to fade out of people’s sight, but researchers are still fiddling with graphene and other high-tech adjustments to solve the real core of the problem, that is, how to develop a truly transparent solar window whose work efficiency is sufficient to justify its cost.
In August last year, Michigan State University announced the renovation of its biomedical and physical science building with fully transparent solar windows, which sparked the latest hot debate on transparent solar cells.
What needs to be clear is that the MSU project is not so much a big drop, as it is a test of the waters. Nevertheless, it seems to be more ambitious than other transparency projects that have surfaced this year. The new MSU solar array consists of 100 square feet of transparent panels located above the main entrance of the building. If everything goes according to plan, this is probably the case. Our idea is to collect enough sunlight to illuminate the atrium.
The company behind the project is Ubiquitous Energy, which was co-founded by MSU Professor Richard Lunt, who is the Johansen Crosby Endowed Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science in the School of Engineering.
do you understand? OK! Lunt's contribution to the field of transparent solar cells is a window that looks exactly the same as traditional glass, but it can separate visible light, namely ultraviolet and infrared, from the invisible light at both ends of the spectrum. Visible light passes through, and the rest is used to generate electricity.
This is an interesting turning point, because people usually think that visible light does all the heavy lifting in solar cells. This may be true, but researchers like Lunt have also discovered that invisible light can also generate a large portion of electricity.
As early as 2017, Michigan State University outlined Lunt’s work and explained that he and his team “have pioneered the development of a transparent luminous solar concentrator that, when placed on a window, can be undisturbed Solar energy is generated in the field of vision. This thin plastic-like material can be used in buildings, car windows, mobile phones or other devices with clear surfaces."
“The solar energy harvesting system uses organic molecules developed by Lunt and his team to absorb sunlight at invisible wavelengths. Researchers can “tune” these materials to only receive ultraviolet and near-infrared wavelengths, and then convert these energy into electrical energy,” MSU added .
Of course, transparent solar cells are not ranked as high as traditional solar cells on the solar conversion efficiency chart because they do not make full use of all the sunlight that hits them. Nevertheless, due to the use of abundant and cheap materials, Ubiquitous Energy's technology provides a considerable 10% conversion efficiency at a relatively low cost.
The location of the MSU installation also shows that solar installers can help cut costs by placing transparent solar arrays at or near the end use, which will help reduce the costs associated with wiring and other electrical systems.
As for the next steps, this is an interesting question. Our friends at EnergySage recently took a look at the market, and it seems that Ubiquitous Energy is the first to propose truly transparent photovoltaic technology, which looks like an ordinary window.
EnergySage did notice another approach, which is to treat only the edges of the window glass as solar cells and most of the surface as standard glass. This method has been adopted by the solar cell company Physee and sold under the name POWER+.
"POWER+ is our power-generating glass coating. It directs sunlight to the integrated solar cells in PowerWindows. Without affecting the transparency of the glass, the energy generated by the windows is 1/of that of the solar panels placed on the roof of the building. 5 is the same," Physee explained.
Physee also applies its solar energy technology to greenhouses, but not to generate electricity. The company's PAR+ coating is designed to increase greenhouse yield by converting ultraviolet light that plants cannot use into visible light that plants can use.
At the same time, researchers continue to challenge the challenge of transparent solar cells.
Some interesting developments this year include new silicon nanowire designs aimed at increasing solar energy conversion efficiency, and the use of fullerenes (think carbon and Buckminster Fuller) to increase transparency.
Ubiquitous Energy undoubtedly put MSU on the solar cell layout. Another interesting emerging area in the solar field is floating solar panels, as is MSU.
Last year, a research team from Michigan State University proposed a study that showed that the pressure of building new hydroelectric dams can be relieved by installing floating solar panel arrays on the surface of existing dams.
The common denominator of Lunt's research is to use the built environment to generate clean energy instead of destroying natural habitats for new buildings.
The emphasis on using pre-developed solar fields also extends to farmland. MSU experts see great potential in the emerging agricultural photovoltaic field, where ground solar panels on farmland are several feet higher than usual.
The raised solar panels provide space for grazing livestock or maintaining pollinator habitat. The raised solar panels can also generate renewable agricultural benefits by reducing evaporation and saving water.
More and more evidences show that due to the partial shading and regeneration advantages of solar panels, the yield of certain food crops can also be increased.
If everything goes according to plan, the gleaming green farmhouses in the future will be equipped with rooftop solar panels and transparent solar windows, which can also overlook acres of lush fields and solar panels.
By the way, if you have heard a lot about agricultural photovoltaic power generation recently, please remember that you heard it here first. CleanTechnica began reporting on the trend of solar energy plus agriculture as early as 2019, including an interesting turning point, that is, solar panels can help save rather than destroy the entire industry.
Follow me on Twitter @TinaMCasey.
Photo (screenshot): A transparent solar window developed by a team of solar energy researchers at Michigan State University (video source: MSU).
Tina specializes in military and corporate sustainability, advanced technologies, emerging materials, biofuels, and water and wastewater issues. The opinions expressed are her own. Follow her on Twitter @TinaMCasey and Google+.
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