Solar Power Advances Keep Coming in 2008

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/599917/solar_power_advances_keep_coming_in.html

Solar Power Advances Keep Coming in 2008

Recent Leaps Include New Efficiency Record

By Shirley Gregory

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Just last month, Sandia National Laboratories and Stirling Energy Systems (SES) set a new world record for solar energy conversion efficiency. Their "Serial #3" solar dish reached a 31.25 percent net efficiency rate, breaking the previous record of 29.4 percent set in 1984.

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Other recent advances in solar technology include improvements in organic solar cells, a prototype device that uses solar energy to convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide that helps generate hydrogen fuel and the possibility of actually printing solar cells.


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"Solar energy is the world's most plentiful energy resource, and the challenge has been tapping it cost-effectively and efficiently," said Janet Sawin, a senior researcher at Worldwatch. "We are now seeing two major trends that will accelerate the growth of (photovoltaic cells): the development of advanced technologies, and the emergence of China as a low-cost producer."

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"The conventional energy industry will be surprised by how quickly solar PV becomes mainstream -- cheap enough to provide carbon-free electricity on rooftops, while also meeting the energy needs of hundreds of millions of poor people who currently lack electricity," said Sawin.