now that's um all solar if you look carefully you can see the the solar cells so the Ben house is also solar the solar race is on in a fierce way to rapidly boost the renewable energy industry recently Elon Musk revealed an incredible power cell never seen before this Innovative technology costing less and providing an endless flow of energy as you know the standard silicon photovoltaic solar cell is the black and copper solar panel that you can find on Suburban rooftops and solar Farms that were born and raised in America in 1950. currently 90 percent of the world's solar panels are made from crystalline silicon and the industry continues to grow at a rate of about 30 percent per year now what have we told you about a material that is lighter and simpler to manufacture at a lower cost it's an inexpensive solution that can make an efficient cell these photovoltaic cells thin enough to power a house are called Ferro electric Crystal cells strong demand coupled with production glitches has pushed the price of key materials mainly polysilicon for solar panels to the highest level the cost of the most expensive grade of polysilicon rose to 40. 62 cents per kilogram surpassing last year's high of 40.
34 cents polysilicon makers take the 99 pure silicon metal and remove impurities until it is 99. 9999 pure as the Silicon rods are forming at the center of the reactor the reactor walls need to be kept cool to prevent the Silicon from crystallizing there maintaining that temperature difference is really energy intensive prompting Tesla to find an alternative to Silicon the energy generation of ferroelectric crystals in solar cells can be increased by a factor of a thousand thanks to a new innovation involving the arrangement of thin layers of the materials Pharaoh electric crystals differ from conventional silicon cells in that they do not require a PN Junction to create the PV effect in other words there is no need to create positively and negatively doped layers within the cell the researchers said that change could make solar panels easier to produce raw materials for the production of this new cell do not need to be mined from the earth it is any material with a crystalline structure so researchers use ferroelectrics like barium titanate a mixed oxide made of barium and titanium this significantly reduces costs Tesla does not need to invest a lot of money in professional workers or high-tech Machinery to support the production therefore it's estimated that these panels can cost up to 10 times less per watt than modern commercial silicon solar panels you can expect to pay about 2. 21 cents per Watts for Tesla's solar panels before the federal solar tax credit but this Ferro electric panel only costs 22 cents per watt previously you always had to worry about the price of silicon solar panels while this new Tesla Innovation is a great solution for those who can't afford to buy them but then one has to wonder how much energy can it actually produce since the price is so low the US installed 3.
9 gigawatts of solar PV capacity in the first quarter of 2022 to reach 126. 1 gigawatts direct current of total installed capacity enough to power 22 million American Homes solar accounted for 50 percent of all new electricity generating capacity added in the US in the first quarter Elon Musk said Tesla's new cell will change the game because it can generate more energy than ever to achieve this increase in electrical energy production the researchers created crystalline layers of barium titanate strontium titanates and calcium of titanate which they placed alternatively on top of one another separating the positive and negative charges in the same photovoltaic device this Arrangement could greatly increase the efficiency of solar panels however pure barium titanates a pharaoh electric Crystal does not absorb much sunlight and consequently generates a comparatively low photo current the researchers discovered that combining extremely thin layers of different materials significantly increases the solar energy yield by experimenting with different material combinations this was achieved by vaporizing the crystals with a high power laser and redepositing them on Carrier substrates this produced a material made of 500 layers that are about 200 nanometers thick in comparison with pure barium titanate the new photoelectric material irradiated with laser light had a current flow one thousand times stronger and more efficient even with a reduction action in the proportion of the base element of the mixture by almost two-thirds the interaction between the lattice layers appears to lead to a much higher permittivity in other words the electrons are able to flow much more easily due to the excitation By the Light photons the measurements also showed that this effect is very robust it remained nearly constant over a six month period a large Tesla solar system of 11. 34 kilowatts can produce an average of 43 to 58 kilowatt hours per day equivalent to 1500 kilowatt hours per week with the ferroelectric cell don't be surprised when we say that it can produce 1.
5 million kilowatt hours per week the ferroelectric cell development plan is a big step forward for Tesla as well as the renewable energy Market in the future this cell is predicted to fulfill Elon musk's ambition to provide electricity for the entire United States I'm extremely confident that solo will be at least plurality of power and and most likely a majority and I predict it will be plurality in less than 20 years a future with more solar energy could open the door to many different use cases you can integrate those panels into public transport on the road in your model Y and imagine buildings covered with transparent windows that generate electricity how exciting so what are the challenges for ferroelectric solar cells a common problem with thin films is that high temperatures shorten lifespan for the western states silicon crystal holds the best position so far Tesla is working on creating a thin film that can withstand extreme temperatures their work promises to be part of a potential revolution in feral electric materials with possible applications and computer memory capacitors and other electronic devices a silicon solar panel can last for 25 years on the other hand this ferroelectric cell is relatively new and needs time to be studied in the lab you U. S President Biden has launched a series of initiatives to Spur domestic solar PV manufacturing with 56 million US dollars in new funding solar technology is accelerating at such a fast pace that it makes us wonder what kind of stuff they'll be making 10 to 20 years down the road if you're thinking about buying solar panels but you don't want to remove your dome roof then flexible solar is an interesting option so does it have a chance to break away from the traditional rectangular glass panels the future of solar technology extends far beyond silicon with numerous alternative materials that belong to a certain class called thin film among various materials for thin film solar cells copper indium gallium selenide or cigs is one of the most developed having achieved efficiencies rivaling those of crystalline silicon though commercial manufacturing of cigs Solar Products has faltered in recent years the the technology has retained plenty of Interest among researchers particularly for its potential inflexible or multi-junction devices bouge RV recently released its new copper indium gallium selenide thin film solar panel that has been gaining praise from users and experts alike the new material in this solar panel can be a supplement to existing solar panels not only that it's the company's first go at it the new flexible solar cell is a thin film photovoltaic device that absorbs sunlight and converts it into electricity it's created with cigs and cadmium sulfide for the absorber generates Power by absorbing photons from incoming sunlight and then producing electrons that travel from the N side to the P side or negative side to the positive side of the Junction in the absorber layer unlike silicon-based solar cells these thin film solar cells are more stable flexible durable and easier to install and as you know traditional solar panels will become less efficient when it's overcast this can be one of the biggest setbacks for Tesla's solar panels as well as other solar panels but thanks to wire intensive copper indium gallium selenide technology bouge RV's flexible solar panel is more stable it is said to be able to generate three times more electricity than your average solar panel and low sunlight conditions a flexible 200 watt 12 volt solar panel can produce 400 watts of power in the shade its modules deliver unprecedented efficiency the cells within this solar panel are connected using a combination of series and parallel connections this means that if one cell gets blocked by shade it will still be able to produce power from any other areas left in the sun in short you might choose thin film solar panels to provide higher stability for your off-grid photovoltaic system for comparison a 200 watt Tesla solar panel produces 200w of energy per but in reality it would produce about 70 to 80 percent of its rated power this means that a 200 watt 12 volt solar panel would produce around 160 watts per hour on a beautiful sunny day but during an overcast your Tesla solar panel will only generate about 130 watts of power output which is not enough power for an entire house in Texas the solar panels generating that power don't last forever the Tesla solar panel lifespan is about 25 to 30 years but luckily the lifespan is constantly improving as solar technology evolves globally Bush RV says the flexible solar panels can last for 30 years when it has to work continuously and can last up to 250 years if they are not in use we can proudly say that bouge RV's flexible solar panels are tough and rigorously tested bouge RV tests them through a high pressure flushing test penetrating damage test and rolling limit test of automobile tires since the solar panel is designed for outdoor use on RVs and boats it is also ip68 waterproof this etfe coated flexible solar panel is a waterproof and has improved rainfall drainage to lessen the influence of partial shade partial shade this means you can slap it on the front of your boat or have it outside your RV during a bit of rainfall and you won't be risking any damage the connectors and junction box are also ip68 waterproof therefore it can operate well in a damp outdoor environment while outperforming a rigid panel the weight of the 200 watt Tesla solar panel is 26. 46 pounds or 12 kilograms while the new flexible solar panel only weighs 1.
84 kilograms only one-sixth of a rigid solar panel flexible panels are already as the name suggests more flexible than rigid panels and can be adapted to some surfaces especially curved ones the copper indium gallium selenide flexible solar panel is an upgrade of the ordinary flexible solar panel if an ordinary flexible solar panel can be bent 150 degrees then this flexible solar panel can be bent to 360 Degrees to achieve the real sense of bending it can even be curved to a roll and adhere to any uneven surface and it's perfect to get a start in solar for your house and great for off-grid applications use it for your RV van boat truck and trailer while on the road the flexible panel provides you with the most stable efficiency per space if you're worried about your phone or any of your appliances running out of charge during a camping trip or long hike a flexible solar panel can solve that problem you'll need to attach the flexible solar panel to your backpack or tent and use the power it generates to charge your electronics so what about the price of the new flexible solar panel Tesla's solar panels that come in 100 or 200 watt 12 volts with pre-drilled holes can cost at least 66 dollars on the other hand with a deal from bouge RV you can get yourself a 100 watt flexible solar panel for just a 199. 99 by using promo code AFF 50. this means you can save fifty dollars it can be said that it is three times more expensive than Tesla's solar panels but one thing you have to consider is even though the price may be three times as expensive as the Tesla solar panel it won't cost as much to install it so you have to consider all the possible savings that you could get from installing flexible solar panels unlike some rigid solar panels that may require a professional to install flexible panels are faster to install many flexible solar panels on the market come with adhesive backing and plug and play components making it easier than ever to install your new solar system the cost of labor for Rick panels is expensive whereas a flexible panel can be installed with only a tube of psychoflex glue overall copper indium gallium selenide flexible solar panel technology requires fewer materials and less energy to produce if you're an outdoor Enthusiast then a flexible solar panel is a game changer maybe in the future this technology will also have the potential of reducing costs and become a cheaper solar alternative in the Lone Star State you can access production at larger scales which is one of the bottlenecks to entry into an application space like energy storage where you need to deliver very large systems I think that would be probably the most exciting first application for tpvs one new Solution by researchers at MIT called thermophotovoltaics will blow your mind what breakthrough advantages will it have and can it provide the energy storage solution ocean we've been looking for more than 90 percent of the world's electricity comes from sources of heat such as coal natural gas nuclear energy and concentrated solar energy for a century steam turbines have been the industry standard for converting such heat sources into electricity on average steam turbines reliably convert about 35 percent of a heat Source into electricity with about 60 percent representing the highest efficiency of any heat engine to date but the Machinery depends on moving parts that are temperature limited heat source is higher than 2000 degrees Celsius would be too hot for turbines in recent years scientists have looked into solid-state Alternatives that could potentially work efficiently at higher temperatures engineers at MIT or Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the national renewable energy laboratory or the nrel have designed a heat engine with no moving Parts their new demonstrations show that it converts heat to electricity with over 40 percent efficiency it's a very competitive level of performance compared to the most efficient type of energy available today which is nuclear power at 45 percent efficiency the heat engine is a thermo photovoltaic or tpv cell similar to a solar panel's photovoltaic cells that passively captures high energy photons from a white hot heat source and converts them into electricity the cell is fabricated from three main regions a high band Gap alloy which sits over a slightly lower band Gap alloy and underneath which is a mirror-like layer of gold the first layer captures a heat source's highest energy photons and converts them into electricity while lower energy photons that pass through the first layer are captured by the second and converted to add to the generated voltage any photons that pass through this second layer are then reflected by the mirror back to the heat so Source rather than being absorbed as wasted heat the team's design can generate electricity from a heat source of between 1900 to 2400 degrees Celsius or up to about 4 300 degrees Fahrenheit according to Professor Henry the rate at which heat leaks out of the blocks is proportional to their surface area whereas the amount of energy they can store relates to their volume they will take months to cool down making them the perfect medium for storing thermal energy the average battery energy storage Capital costs in 2019 was at 589 dollars per kilowatt hour after considerable research Henry and his team estimate that this system could store energy at a fraction of the cost at around 10 dollars per kilowatt hour of capacity while nuclear power is 1300 times more expensive Capital costs for nuclear power plants range between 7 800 to 12 800 US dollars per kilowatt does the cheaper price make up for the lower efficiency well let's talk a little bit about how much power that would make these cells could reach that forty percent efficiency Mark so a one square meter cell could generate around 100 kilowatts for comparison the power per area of nuclear power facilities is also about 100 kilowatts per square meter so an array of 30 by 30 modules about 900 square feet will have a total capacity of around 90 000 kilowatts or close to 100 megawatts the graphite blocks can hold enough heat to keep the cells generating power for roughly 10 hours 100 megawatts per hour for 10 hours means it could provide a thousand megawatt hours or one gigawatt enough to power tens of thousands of homes moreover tpv cells can deliver energy instantly the same way traditional solar cells would this would make them ideal for grid scale applications in a grid scale thermal battery 3 the system would absorb excess energy from renewable sources like the sun and store it in heavily insulated Banks of hot graphite when needed the tpv cells could then convert that heat to electricity and send it to the power grid the experimental cell was just a square centimeter so the team would have to ramp that up to about 10 000 square feet for grid level power meanwhile a nuclear energy facility has a small area footprint requiring about 1.
3 square miles per 1000 megawatts of installed capacity tpvs take little space to implement but they are as efficient as nuclear power as of right now a company plans to roll out a one megawatt hour pilot system by the end of 2022 with plans to eventually Implement a 50 megawatt hour commercial scale system by 2026. they also hope to further improve the cell's efficiency to 50 sent by increasing the fraction of unusable radiation they reflect by 97 to 98 percent thus we could start seeing tpv systems co-located at power plants or smelters to improve efficiency and absorb some of that lost heat indeed the opportunities abound but before we get ahead of ourselves we need to see how this pilot plant performs now all of this sounds super promising but there are still lots of challenges that tpv needs to solve moving heat requires very Advanced complex pumps and systems to cope with all that heat moreover the system is very expensive to invest in and is still under development in the lab plus blasting tpv cells with such intense heat and light is another new challenge Engineers haven't faced before the main problem with molten tin is that if something goes wrong and the heat drops below the melting point all of the tin solidifies so the system cannot ever be allowed to cool down even with sufficient cooling to keep the panels from overheating when it comes to nuclear power uranium extraction transporting and processing all produce emissions the long and complex construction process of nuclear power plants also releases CO2 or carbon dioxide as does the demolition of decommissioned sites moreover if a nuclear power plant accident occurs or otherwise known as a meltdown the environment and surrounding people could be exposed to high levels of radiation the 2011 accident at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima Japan is one of the worst nuclear disasters in history the reactors were destroyed by a tsunami following a major earthquake we will eventually run out of energy and die I mean and or civilization will collapse so obviously we must find ways to produce energy in a renewable manner Texans have been suffering from a brutal heat wave for the last six weeks and every morning they worry about the condition of the state's electricity grid so Elon Musk has developed a low-cost renewable energy source that may end the Texas emergency what energy source could he be talking about Tesla announced that its solar deployments had increased by 25 percent year over year in the second quarter to 106 megawatts energy generation and storage Revenue amounted to 866 million dollars which is equivalent to around 5. 1 percent of Tesla's total revenue in the quarter with gross profit from The Division standing at 32.
3 million dollars per month this is Tesla's strongest quarterly result in over four years so why is there so much interest in solar energy lately in an interview Elon Musk introduced a cheap solar power system specially tailored for Texas and we're going to show you how electricity from this new system is already cheaper than Grid electricity costs having spoken with a Texas resident the grid cost in March of 2022 was 15 cents per kilowatt hour a rise of 22. 81 percent year over year for the Tesla solar panels his cost is fixed at 108. 63 per month which is the financing cost of the panels we can see that the solar costs are higher in the winter and lower in the summer because there is less Sun available in the winter for the solar panels during the summer his solar cost drops down to seven cents per kilowatt hour ignoring installation costs the average home in Texas uses a thousand one hundred and seventy six kilowatt hours a month or 14 112 kilowatt hours a year a large Tesla solar system of 11.
34 kilowatts can produce an average of 43 to 58 kilowatt hours per day equivalent to 1500 kilowatt hours per week that's huge savings solar roofs that look better than a normal roof generate electricity have last longer have better insulation and actually have a cost and installed cost that is less than a normal roof but besides solar panels Tesla also made a big splash with a new solar roof unlike Tesla's other offering of large solar panels these tiles are made to look like normal roofing shingles that generate electricity for your home a Tesla solar roof comes at a significant cost however between 39 800 and 48 700 with 6. 4 kilowatt hours and potential buyers might wonder how long it might take for the resulting Energy savings to break even the solar roof provides clean and green energy without any emissions making it an intriguing choice for homeowners looking to reduce or even eliminate their power bills using an example of a 2 000 square foot home in California with a monthly electric bill of a hundred and fifty dollars Tesla ends a 6. 13 kilowatt roof to provide 9265 kilowatts of power each year the cost of a new solar roof at this size including installation is forty thousand three hundred dollars since the old roof has to be removed there is a six thousand eight hundred dollar charge for roof tear off bringing the minimum cost to forty seven thousand one hundred moreover with the powerwall system maximizing the potential power savings buyers will be first set back by another eleven thousand dollars Federal and local tax incentives will lower the cost by Thirteen thousand six hundred dollars for this example a roof could cost a total of forty five thousand five hundred dollars including installation moreover Austin Energy's value of solar tariff pays you a little under 10 cents for every kilowatt hour your solar panels can generate dividing the total price of forty four thousand five hundred dollars by the one hundred and fifty dollar utility bill result in the total cost of the investment being recovered in 297 months which is 24 years and 9 months while a Tesla solar roof is definitely a long-term investment it comes with plenty of benefits that can be enjoyed long before it fully pays for itself Tesla doesn't manufacture solar panels but supplies and installs them the tech giant partnered with Panasonic for a while to create its solar cells but this partnership had ended in 2019.
Tesla is now working with a company called hanwa to manufacture its solar panels there has been a lot of skepticism since they are shipped from China a solar panel has a useful life of about 20 years that means a lot of panels installed in the early part of the century are ready to be replaced but what to do with them we still don't know how Tesla's solar panels will be recycled but until now most of them have been simply discarded in dumps and landfills because no commercially viable recycling process exists to recapture the precious elements inside them there are lots of raw materials that go into a solar panel but but getting them back out is hard the envelope-sized Silicon cells inside solar panels are first separated from the sheets of polymers and glass surrounding them using a hot steel blade while the recycling process uses harsh chemicals by recovering lead the process has also the potential to eliminate an environmental hazard that would otherwise wind up as recycling waste or in landfills there is potential to recover about 15 dollars worth of silver from each panel but there is no way yet to reclaim the Silicon without using an expensive and energy intensive process Tesla may be a big name but many other companies have slowly inched up in the Solar roof race GAF energy said it was building a 100 million dollar facility in Georgetown Texas that will bring its domestic production capacity to 300 megawatts annually up from 50 megawatts today you can expect to pay around forty two thousand dollars for a GAF solar roof and this can be reduced to around thirty thousand dollars with solar incentive programs however the price can change significantly depending on roof size and complexity their power production warranty offers 84. 8 percent of initial output after 25 years of use with two percent degradation during the first year of use and then only 0.
