{"id":26533,"date":"2018-08-29T12:24:04","date_gmt":"2018-08-29T16:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=26533"},"modified":"2022-03-16T10:27:35","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T14:27:35","slug":"universities-go-solar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/universities-go-solar\/","title":{"rendered":"How Universities Are Helping Us Go Solar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Renewable energy is growing. So far in 2018, 70 percent of net global power capacity additions were renewables, according to the 2018 Global Status Report by REN21<\/a>. A fifth of the world\u2019s energy already comes from renewable sources — a figure that\u2019s only rising.<\/p>\n

In this transition, solar power stands up front as one of the most promising and quickly growing renewable energy sources.<\/p>\n

In this article, we chronicle the growth of solar energy and highlight the efforts of university researchers across the globe working to develop new solar technologies.<\/p>\n

A blossoming industry<\/b><\/h2>\n

As the world transitions to sustainable energy, solar figures to be at the center of the renewable revolution as one of the major sources of energy that we will use to power the planet.<\/p>\n

Already, solar has seen remarkable growth in the past decade. At the end of 2017, the total operating solar power in the world reached 405 gigawatts, 89 percent of which was installed in the last 7 years.<\/p>\n

Though a set of tariffs on imported solar panels<\/a> recently imposed by the Trump administration threaten to slow the U.S. solar production for the next couple years, there is no slowing the solar revolution.<\/p>\n

Fifty-five percent of new renewable power installations in 2018 worldwide were solar photovoltaics, more than the additions of fossil fuels and nuclear combined. China leads the pack, having installed 52.8 gigawatts in 2017<\/a> — over half of new solar capacity added last year. In the first quarter of 2018, 55 percent of all<\/i> electricity<\/a> (that includes fossil fuels, nuclear and renewable energy sources) added in the U.S. was solar.<\/p>\n

The bullish market seems to suggest that Elon Musk may have been right when he said that solar power will be the world\u2019s largest energy source<\/a> by 2031.<\/p>\n

But there is still work to be done before solar energy can reach its full potential. Universities across the world are making significant contributions to the effort to switch to solar, whether by supporting groundbreaking research, developing solar technologies, or installing solar energy on campus.<\/p>\n

Stanford — water-based battery to store solar & wind energy<\/b><\/h2>\n

Stanford University researchers have developed a low-cost water-based battery<\/a> that could be used to store solar and wind energy, potentially providing a solution to one of the most significant roadblocks to fully transitioning to renewable energy.<\/p>\n

They have developed a small prototype that stands only three inches tall and generates only a modest 20 milliwatt hours of electricity, but they are confident they can scale their model up to an industrial-grade system.<\/p>\n

The manganese-hydrogen battery works based on a chemical reaction between water and manganese sulfate, a cheap and abundant industrial salt. The reaction was developed in the lab of Yi Cui<\/a>, a professor of materials science and engineering and senior author on the paper.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve done is thrown a special salt into water, dropped in an electrode, and created a reversible chemical reaction that stores electrons in the form of hydrogen gas,\u201d Cui said in a statement.<\/p>\n

When power is fed into the battery, the electrons react with the manganese sulfate in the water, leaving manganese dioxide clinging to the electrodes. This process produces electrically-charged hydrogen gas, which can be converted back into electricity.<\/p>\n

Transitioning to solar and wind power will require significant changes to the way that energy is stored and dispersed. These two energy sources are highly variable. That is, the sun is not always shining and the wind is not always blowing.<\/p>\n

This puts a burden on the energy grid. If there is a surge in demand when the sun is not shining, utilities must have a way to send significant amounts of energy on short notice. Typically, utilities will have so-called \u201cdispatchable\u201d power plants that can turn on within minutes to produce quick energy. This strategy is effective, but the power plants typically rely on fossil fuels, so it is not exactly climate-conscious.<\/p>\n

Storing wind and solar energy for use during peak hours in high-capacity batteries offers a clean alternative. Consider this option a rainy day fund for utilities. When demand is high and the sun is low, utilities can simply draw from energy stored in the batteries.<\/p>\n

The challenge is creating a battery that is both reliable and low cost. Rechargeable lithium ion batteries, like those in your phone and laptop, use rare materials and so are too expensive to use on a large scale.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther rechargeable battery technologies are easily more than five times of that cost over the life time,\u201d Cui said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The new battery, composed of cheap and abundant materials, may be the solution.<\/p>\n

Yale, Princeton, Lincoln & NASA — solar energy from algae<\/b><\/h2>\n

Long before the invention of solar panels, algae was already harnessing the sun\u2019s energy. Algae — like all photosynthetic organisms — has been biologically optimized for light absorption by billions of years of evolution.<\/p>\n

Now, a team of researchers from Yale University, Princeton University, Lincoln University and NASA has found out how to harness the photosynthetic abilities of algae<\/a> to enhance the performance of organic solar panels.<\/p>\n

The research was led by Andr\u00e9 Taylor<\/a>, an associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering at Yale, who runs the university\u2019s Transformative Materials and Devices Laboratory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When sunlight strikes an organic solar cell, electrons in the \u201cactive layers\u201d pick up energy and begin moving the energy through the core of the solar panel.<\/p>\n

The materials used to create the active layer are very rare and expensive. This fact has presented a problem for solar panel developers.<\/p>\n

But, the researchers found that an abundant species of algae known as \u201cdiatom\u201d, or the \u201cjewels of the sea,\u201d can be used to enhance the performance of the active layer.<\/p>\n

They dispersed diatoms throughout the active layer of the solar cell, effectively reducing the amount of material needed for the active layer while maintaining the same levels of electrical output.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were able to see what the right concentration was and how much of this material we needed to put into our solar cells to get enhancement,\u201d Lyndsey McMillon-Brown, a doctoral student in Taylor\u2019s lab and lead author of the study, said in a statement. \u201cIt\u2019s really beneficial because the active layer materials we use are expensive and very rare.\u201d<\/p>\n

As they continue to develop their technology, the researchers are experimenting with different strains of algae in the hopes of optimizing their solar panel\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope that this work will shed more light on the opportunity to utilize biomimicry or bio-inspired designs to solve engineering problems,\u201d said McMillon-Brown.<\/p>\n

\u201cNature has developed many solutions that can be used to address many of our engineering problems \u2013 we just have to learn how to adapt and apply them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michigan State — transparent solar panels<\/b><\/h2>\n

A group of Michigan State University engineers contend that transparent solar panels, which appear identical to a slate of glass, could revolutionize energy generation.<\/p>\n

In 2014, MSU researchers developed a new type of solar concentrator<\/a> that is capable of collecting invisible light from the sun and for conversion into usable energy. The panels are completely transparent, so they can be placed over a wide variety of glass surfaces — from windows to cell phones.<\/p>\n

In a more recent paper<\/a>, the scientists reported that the technology, once it is further optimized, could open up countless new opportunities for solar energy harvesting.<\/p>\n

\u201cHighly transparent solar cells represent the wave of the future for new solar applications,\u201d Richard Lunt<\/a>, the Johansen Crosby Endowed Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at MSU, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe analyzed their potential and show that by harvesting only invisible light, these devices can provide a similar electricity-generation potential as rooftop solar while providing additional functionality to enhance the efficiency of buildings, automobiles, and mobile electronics.\u201d<\/p>\n

The researchers note that there is an estimated 5 billion to 7 billion square meters of glass surface in the U.S. If all of that glass was covered by transparent solar panels, we could extract 40 percent of the U.S. energy demand from that source alone.<\/p>\n

The estimated potential of opaque rooftop solar panels is also about 40 percent. The researchers suggest that the transparent cells could be used in conjunction with rooftop solar panels.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe complimentary deployment of both technologies,\u201d Lunt said in a statement, \u201ccould get us close to 100 percent of our demand if we also improve energy storage.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the time being, transparent solar cells are still far less efficient than traditional solar panels. They are recording efficiencies above 5 percent, compared to about 15 to 18 percent for most traditional solar panels.<\/p>\n

However, Lunt said that they could be come at least close to as efficient as traditional solar panels with more development. He emphasized that transparent solar panels are still a very new technology and are only at about a third of their realistic overall potential at the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is what we are working towards,\u201d Lunt said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraditional solar applications have been actively researched for over five decades, yet we have only been working on these highly transparent solar cells for about five years. Ultimately, this technology is a promising route to inexpensive, widespread solar adoption on small and large surfaces that were previously inaccessible.<\/p>\n

University of Maryland — sustainable \u201chouse as a kit of parts\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n

A student team from the University of Maryland placed first in the U.S. and second in the world<\/a> at the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s Solar Decathlon 2017, for its entry of a prototype energy-efficient, solar-powered house, named resilient Adaptive Climate Technology (reACT).<\/p>\n

The decathlon is an annual, international competition that challenges teams from around the world to design a full-size solar-powered house.<\/p>\n

The prototype designed by the UMD team is described as a \u201chouse as a kit of parts.\u201d It is made up of five adaptable modules centered around an interior courtyard.<\/p>\n

The courtyard functions as the focal point of the house. It serves both as a comfortable sunroom as well as a spacious solar collector to preheat air and water.<\/p>\n

The house also includes a paneled interior with living systems separate from its structure, giving owners the ability to adapt the house to their needs and desires. It operates with complete self-sufficiency and includes systems that capture waste, water and energy.<\/p>\n