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• Solar Power Even Without Sun
  Srikant Rajan 02:22:01 pm on August 6, 2008 | 7 | # |
  Tags: batteries, fuel cell, MIT, solar cell, solar power

  The sun goes down in the night and with it goes the electricity being generated by a solar cell.Of course you can store some of the energy generated in a battery , but that is not cost economical.Now MIT has come come up with a process that may allow unlimited solar power.The essence of this new technology is similar to the process of photosynthesis.The electricity generated by a solar cell is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases , which are later recombined within a fuel cell to provide power when solar power is unavailable.

  This process uses a catalyst that can work well at room temperature and is easy to fabricate.Additionally this process also also  provides an attractive interlinking of two green energy generators( solar and fuel cells) .However there is still the challenge of integrating this into mainstream solar cells, which itself is in development phase.Researchers however add “ This is just the beginning. The scientific community is really going to run with this “. It is further anticipated that this technology could be close to commercialization within the coming decade.

   

• A “ Window “ that Produces Power
  Srikant Rajan 12:40:13 pm on July 14, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: covalent solar, dye solar, MIT, solar cells, solar concentrator, solar energy, solar window

  Now it may not be all that “ cool ” to close that window in your room ,if you are serious about reducing your power consumption and going green at the same time. Researchers at MIT are currently investigating a technology that allows power generation by adding certain additives to windows in buildings. This process utilizes solar cells that are placed at the glass edges as opposed to spreading them across the flat surface of the glass. This allows reduction in silicon used in solar cells, thus lowering their costs. A further improvement is a method to force sunlight to window edges (where solar cells are placed), filter and concentrate it to generate power.

  Silicon costs have been a major factor driving up the prices of solar energy. This approach eliminates requirement of large quantities of silicon in addition to doing away with supporting mirrors, lenses and trackers. However the quantity of power generated may not be adequate to prompt installation of this system. MIT researchers, however, plan to start a venture -  Covalent Solar to further refine this technology and anticipate a commercial product within 3 years.