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POWER SOURCE
A group effort:
SYED HASSAAN
MURTAZA (22)
Photovoltaics
A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell (PV), is a device that converts
light into electric current using the photoelectric effect. This is
based on the discovery by Alexander-Edmond Becquerel who
noticed that some materials release electrons when hit with rays
of photons from light, which produces an electrical current. The
first solar cell was constructed by Charles Fritts in the 1880s.
Although the prototype selenium cells converted less than 1% of
SOLAR POWER: A BRILLIANT
POWER SOURCE
incident light into electricity, both Ernst Werner von Siemens and James Clerk Maxwell
recognized the importance of this discovery. Following the work of Russell Ohl in the
1940s, researchers Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin created the silicon
solar cell in 1954.
These early solar cells cost 286 USD/watt and reached efficiencies of 4.5–6%.As of late
2009, the highest efficiency PV cells were produced commercially by Boeing/SpectroLab
at about 41%. Other, similar, multi-layer cells are close. These are very expensive
however, and are used only for the most exacting applications. Thin film PV cells have
been developed which are made in bulk and are far less expensive and much less fragile,
but are at most around 20% efficient. The most recent development (from Caltech,
March 2010) is the experimental demonstration of a new design which is an 85% efficient
photon absorber in plain sunlight and 95% efficient absorber at certain wavelengths.
Unfortunately, 100% absorption should not be confused with 100% electrical efficiency as
single junction materials are bound by the so-called Shockley-Queisser limit.
If solar power is looked at through a long-term lens, you will eventually make
back what you originally spent, and possibly start saving money on your
investment. Solar power is not subject supply and demand fluctuations in the way
that gas is. Silicon, the primary component of solar panels, is also being more
widely produced, therefore, less and less expensive with each passing year. Solar
power is independent, or semi-independent. This is great because you can supply
your home with electricity during a power outage. Solar power can also be used
in remote locations, places where conventional power can’t be reached. On a
larger scale, solar power also reduces our need to rely on foreign sources for
power. In Pakistan, there are some solar power systems being utilized but
together it is less in number in the country just because of the initial cost needed
to make larger and bigger and efficient solar power stations so that they can
cover a wide area of range for providing power. Let’s hope it comes sooner in our
country so that we can get rid of load shedding problem (INSHALLAH). Let’s hope
positive!