Optical Furnace Could Cut by 50 Percent the Energy Required to Make Solar Cells
Over the past few decades, the solar industry has gotten a lot more efficient and cost-effective at making solar cells. They slice silicon thinner; they even make panels out of non-silicon materials. One potential big breakthrough is the use of optical furnaces to heat up the silicon substrate with which the panel is made. This could reduce the amount of energy required by half, which would make panels cheaper but also reduce their manufacturing footprint.
Easier Rooftop Installation for Residential Solar PV
Robots might be great for big commercial solar farms, but to install panels on a residential rooftop, you still need people to climb up there. But while the cost of the solar cells has been going down a lot, the labor to install them hasn’t, and that’s an area where innovation can help. The problem is that a lot of residential solar can be installed more efficiently. But we’re now seeing companies come up with standardized brackets that reduce the number of steps required to install panels, and thus save a lot of time. This means that the same crew can now install more solar systems in a day.