THE ADVANTAGES OF SOLAR ENERGY

It is a well-known fact that renewable energy sources would allow in the long run savings of large sums of money, while maintaining the level of today’s consumption with no negative impact on the climate. The Energy (R)evolution: a Sustainable World Outlook report, published by EREC (European Renewable Energy Council) and Greenpeace, states it is time to embark on the road of renewable energies. The forecast is that by 2050 the world consumption of primary energy will double, yet the report shows that it is possible to maintain a stable consumption level. An efficient use of sources will save a good 48% of global energy consumption, reducing the use of fossil sources of energy by two-thirds, while quadrupling the contribution of renewable energies.

The search for an ever greater cost-benefit and greater effectiveness ratio in capturing solar energy is now a constant factor in any type of technology used on this front. A study carried out by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), located in Germany, has developed a system capable of improving the efficiency of solar cells designed to convert sunlight into electricity.
The team of researchers said that the efficiency of multijunction solar cells created with III-V group semiconductors, used in PV solar concentrators at the solar power stations, has increased by 2.1%, thus achieving a value of 39.7%, setting, therefore, a new European record. The team of researchers has managed to improve the contact structures of solar cells, thus optimizing the process of conversion of solar energy into electricity.

The Department of Energy at The Idaho National Laboratory, in the United States, has instead developed a new technique that could be the first step towards low-cost solar energy accessible to all. Special flexible nanoantennas have been used, which can capture large quantities of solar energy at low cost and even "recycle" excess heat. Nanoantennas are small, gold squares or spirals inserted in a special kind of polyethylene, the material of which plastic bags are made. According to researchers, future devices of this type may be used to operate all kinds of equipment with greater efficiency than what is available with current technologies. While traditional solar cells use only visible light, nanoantennas are active in the infrared atmosphere, namely the radiations that the earth diffuses as heat after absorbing solar energy throughout the day.

The Ministry of Japanese Environment estimated that the use of solar energy could lead, from now till 2030, to an increase in energy produced equal to 55 times the current levels. The government’s forecast is based on the fact that in the coming years a flat-rate system will come about, according to which national operators will buy, at scheduled intervals and prices, electricity from renewable sources from both companies and private individuals. According to estimates, the win-win circle of clean energy could lead to multiply the total solar power to thirty seven thousand megawatts by 2020 and to seventy nine thousand megawatts by 2030.

However, the most interesting prospect for growth is the thermodynamic solar power, also called solar concentration. Among the various forms of solar energy use, this is considered the one with the greatest development potential, for it is capable of better returns.

In the version developed in Italy by Enea, very high temperatures are gathered and maintained through the parabolic mirrors, reaching temperatures of over 600 degrees Celsius. This allows the production of large amounts of electricity in a consistent, uninterrupted fashion. The first big step in the development of the market of solar thermodynamic power stations is likely to take place in the next few years, with a cost reduction per kWh of about 10/12 Euro-cents.

Confident in its experience of over 65 years in the production of mirror paints, the Fenzi Group has developed a new and exclusive range of high-performance paints, designed to withstand the extremely intense strains they will be exposed to. Renewable energy is certainly an urgent need, but it is also an increasingly impressive business opportunity.