Printable Solar Panels Cheaer than Coal
A new startup has announced that they are now selling a new, much cheaper solar panel. Their manufacturing method allows the panels to be printed onto sheets of aluminum, which is MUCH cheaper than the traditional methods. Cost estimates are around $2 a watt for a full system, which falls slightly under coal’s $2.1 a watt (which seems a bit suspect), and much less than solar’s traditional $4 per watt.
Printable electronics, solar panels, and other goods which conventionally require lots of assembly and effort during manufacturing will make a huge impact in the next 5 years. The methods have been under development for quite a few years, but we are finally seeing some practical applications. The good news is that manufacturers will continue to get better and better at printing new complex goods for the next 15 to 20 years, so ideally the prices we pay for electronics (and solar power) should continually drop. Maybe the big talk will prove true, and solar will actually compete as a major power source…
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/technology/18solar.html?_r=2&ref=tec hnology&oref=slogin&oref=slogin via gizmodo
