Large-Scale, Cheap Solar Electricity

Technology Review ^ | June 23, 2006 | Kevin Bullis

[dead]

I wish them luck, but I doubt their claims.

[Abathar]

with 100 million to play with, someone sure doesn't doubt they might have something...

[Dark Skies]

Nanosolar has developed a way to make these cells using a printing technology similar to the kind used to print newspapers...

Wait a minute, maybe there's hope for the MSM after all. They can publish solar cells.

[cripplecreek]

Solar works great on a small scale but if they can economically produce electricty on a large scale it's good news for the southwest.

[ncountylee]

http://www.nanosolar.com/

[MineralMan]

"I wish them luck, but I doubt their claims."

Which of their claims do you doubt?

I remember being a 12 year old boy, taking apart selenium rectifiers from radios and connecting them in series to create a solar cell, long before silicon solar cells appeared.

The technology they're using is scientifically sound, and the new technique for creating the photovoltaic surface sounds promising.

I wouldn't discount this company at all.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Solar power will never work on a large scale. CA might as well suck it up and start building nuclear power plants.

[mgstarr]

The benefits would be enormous so let's hope they can do it.

[Abathar]

True, but what about those of use who live in Michigan? Almost useless there several months out of the year...

[Uncledave]

you'd get more resources that wouldn't be needed in sunnier parts

[Uncledave]

you'd get more resources that wouldn't be needed in sunnier parts

[eleni121]

Let's do it. Anything to lessen our dependence on Muslim or anyone else's oil is a good thing.

[Drango]

If anyone believes this, I'll sell you some futures (or calls or whatever they are?)

[dead]

Every year, some company comes along and claims that they can create solar cells that will make solar power competitively priced, and every year goes by with nobody doing it.

Maybe this company will be the one that actually does it. Who knows? But, so far, all such claims have been expensive hot air.

[cripplecreek]

My uncle met a scientist in Japan who is working on a durable coating for roads and parking lots that uses solar energy to produce electricity.

[Robert A Cook PE]

It might work: Sounds like (right now) ALL they actually have is a (very expensive) prototype, based on old technology that "might work" and PLANS to make a pilot plant to make a demonstration of a prototype manufacturing process.

IF, and ONLY IF, the output from the prototype manufacturing plant works as expected within quality limits expected and within the prices expected at the amounts epxected, THEN they will build a manufacturing plant EXPECTED to be able to make AS MUCH AS 450 MegWatt per year.

...

It is progress, and I will congratulate them on it....

Notice capitalism at work: Si cells are still rare (and expensive), demand is high - so prices are high, and NOBODY has made any money from this new way of building solar cells yet, nor do the new kind of cells have a life-time record of performance yet. They may, for example, fail after a few months or years of exposure.

[RS]

"Solar power will never work on a large scale."

Depends what you mean - if you are thinking of covering square miles in the desert, no - but covering hundreds of thousands of square miles on rooftops ... it will work when they are cheap enough.

[Abathar]

Now there would be something usefull, look at the sq. miles of pavement out there. Hell if Walmart did all their parking lots alone they could probably generate enough to at least take a chunk out of their air conditioning costs...

[cloud8]

> The technology they're using is scientifically sound, and the new technique for creating the photovoltaic surface sounds promising.

> I wouldn't discount this company at all.

It's very exciting, really. Keep an eye out for an IPO in '08.