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WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 19 2007 9:00 AM

Suck My Solar Power, Saudi Arabia

Every once is a while a new technology comes along that completely changes our world. One such technology started hitting the market yesterday and it is fucking awesome. It is a solar panel without the panel. This new technology is thin as a paint coating and it coverts sunlight to electricity. Oh, and its cheaper than coal. I just got my first sunlight erection.

The company, Nanosolar, has built two plants, one in Germany and the other in Silicon Valley. They already have orders for 18 months of production.

The first Nanosolar panels are destined for a one-megawatt solar plant to be installed in Germany on a former landfill owned by a waste management company. The plant, being developed by Beck Energy, is expected to initially supply electrical power for about 400 homes.

The company is backed by Google, of course, and they received $20 million from the US Department of Energy. The technology has been around for years, but the Silicon Valley based Nanosolar was the company that devised a way to make the manufacturing process affordable. They created printing press like machines to put a layer of solar-absorbing nano-ink onto metal sheets as thin as aluminum foil. Now we live in a world where solar powered buildings will be plentiful, which will reduce pollutants produced by dirty energy sources. Because it is fucking cheaper than coal. I just got another sunlight erection.

"Youre talking about printing rolls of the stuffprinting it on the roofs of 18-wheeler trailers, printing it on garages, printing it wherever you want it, says Dan Kammen, founding director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley. It really is quite a big deal in terms of altering the way we think about solar and in inherently altering the economics of solar.

The panels will cost about a tenth of what current solar panels cost and several hundred feet per minute can be whipped out. As of now, the plant can create 430 megawatts of solar cells a year, which is more than all the solar plants currently in the US. Cost has always been what held solar back from being a popular energy source. Traditional solar cells use silicon, which is very expensive. It then has to be placed on glass, which makes the panels heavy, dangerous, expensive to ship and install. And 70 percent of the silicon is wasted during manufacturing. The end result is panels that cost $3 per watt, while the new PowerSheets cost $1 per watt.

Looks like the only problem will be keeping up with demand. California has a state initiative that provides tax breaks and rebates to encourage the installation of 100,000 roofs a year for 10 consecutive years.

You know whats fun about scientists? Nothing. Anytime they are on screen, there is a horrible void. Thankfully, his lack of charisma is crushed by his world changing brain.

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Comments

Adroitbeing

I'm lost

September 2003

DEC 19, 2007 04:03 PM

Colinism said:

ohash said:
Perhaps someone who knows more about electricity in general can help me with this. I read both of the above linked sites as well as some Q&A's with the company president, and there was no mention of possible residential uses for this. It seems as though they are only selling to large solar plants right now. Would this be something that we could see being put on the roofs of homes or is it solely commercial and on a large scale?

Most likely it would have to start out with the people who can pay out big bucks IE energy companies, as the technology improves further and they get more capital they will be able to lower the prices further and eventually expand into the civilian market. Least thats usually how it goes.

Not quite.
The company is in licensing deliberations to discuss "go to market" strategies that include embedding the technology into production materials that may include roofing materials. The major obstacles are NOT technology, but deal structure and market ramp.

For now, the company's standard offering is backlogged for 12-18 months depending on production volumes. Most of what NYT and FTR reported actually took place during the past six months, so the situation has evolved.

The consumer market strategy must take into account a revenue sharing model for utility "buy back;" that portion of the energy you generate in your own home that your utility will then repurchase from you. There is no reason that Nanosolar should not reap some of those same benefits as a revenue stream.

punk

Phoenix, AZ

January 2004

DEC 19, 2007 05:29 PM

Holy shit!

xazapdmytinu

Fort Collins, CO

July 2007

DEC 19, 2007 05:34 PM

but...GE told me that solar power would never be as efficient or as cheap as coal.

RudieCantFail

Baton Rouge, LA

January 2006

DEC 19, 2007 05:42 PM

Holy shit that's awesome!

SnowgodCCR

Derry, NH

November 2006

DEC 19, 2007 05:45 PM

I have a sunlight erection, thanks FTR.
What's going to happen when the middle east loses ALL of their resource desirability? Without the massive cash flow of the world wanting their oil, there isn't going to be much intrest in them. Maybe we'll ignore them like we're ignoring africa?

I'm totally having this stuff put on my house.

Edit: I don't think this stuff is such a good idea anymore...I just heard a new Department of Energy study that says that they produce more radioactive waste than nuclear fusion, and because of their close proximity to your home it will leech into your carpets and give you monkey toes, not to mention other bad things, like turn you into Jihad people.

RudieCantFail

Baton Rouge, LA

January 2006

DEC 19, 2007 05:56 PM

KUNGFOO said:

scorp17yh said:
How long before the Bush Administration outlaws this stuff.

Probably around the same time they outlaw nutball conspiracy theories.

You say that now, but just wait until Mr. Burns blocks out the sun.

Waynbo

San Jose, CA

February 2007

DEC 19, 2007 06:01 PM

This is great news! I also heard reports of thermo-solar plants that are going to be constructed (I think in Ca) that put out as much power as a small nuclear plant. We may be heading into a new age of workable renewable energy! :-)

HillsideStrangle

Victoria, BC

September 2006

DEC 19, 2007 06:04 PM

Unfortunately there is currently no way solar could power a passenger car. I've been working exclusively in the solar and wind industry for almost 7 years and the general consensus is that the product mentioned in this article will not be viable for large scale power needs at all.

Solar is awesome, and this could be a pretty big breakthrough, but the regular person shouldn't expect to see this or any other solar power sources become affordable to them in the near future.

Unfortunately most people, when exploring alternative energies, tend to see the initial investment as far too costly. It is expensive, but in the long run it can save you thousands and thousands of dollars. Also, solar modules are not that bad, cost-wise. What kills you is everything else that's required.

RudieCantFail

Baton Rouge, LA

January 2006

DEC 19, 2007 06:08 PM

Waynbo said:
This is great news! I also heard reports of thermo-solar plants that are going to be constructed (I think in Ca) that put out as much power as a small nuclear plant. We may be heading into a new age of workable renewable energy! :-)

That's cool, but the real revolution will be in the decentralization of power production. As suggested in the story, every home and building will be coated in the stuff, each generating more than enough power for their own individual need.

The same thing with wind power, we're already starting to see windmills dotting across the landscape in peak areas, rather than in large "windmill farms" in isolated regions.

HillsideStrangle

Victoria, BC

September 2006

DEC 19, 2007 06:27 PM

Wind power is superior to all power sources, in my mind. Unfortunately it really depends on the area you live. (Not unlike solar) It does generate more power than solar though, and is less dependant on power storage, and the elements. A good sized wind turbine or wind sock can generate enough power for an entire street, in some cases. Pretty impressive shit.

BatAttaK

Tacoma, WA

OLD SKOOL

DEC 19, 2007 06:38 PM

Color me impressed when they have a Delorean wrapped in enough of this stuff to generate 1.21 gigawatts of electricity. Fuck orange peels and beer cans for power! I wants nanoinked Deloreans!!