From the «sunny money» department:
Title: Scientists Just Set a New World Record In Solar Cell Efficiency
Author: help@slashdot.org
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2020 21:02:00 -0500
Link: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/MgAR6ALedYs/scientists-just-set-a-new-world-record-in-solar-cell-efficiency

According to a paper published in the journal Science, researchers report they they have now hit an efficiency of 29.15 percent in the perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell category. ScienceAlert reports: For this type of panel, the long-term target of more than 30 percent is now tantalizingly within reach. The latest lab tests edge ahead of the maximum 28 percent efficiency that perovskite/silicon cells have managed up to this point. [...] In this new research, the 29.15 percent efficiency record was managed with a 1 cm x 1 cm (0.4 inch x 0.4 inch) panel, so some serious scaling up will be required. The team says that should be possible, however. After 300 hours of simulated use, the tandem cell retained 95 percent of its original efficiency, which is another promising sign. The new record was actually first reported earlier this year, though the peer-reviewed paper detailing the feat has just been published. The scientists used specially tweaked layer compositions for both connecting the electrode layer and keeping the two types of cell together in order to reach their new record. It's another moment to celebrate, but the scientists aren't stopping: previous research suggests that tandem solar cell technology should be able to reach efficiency rates of well above 30 percent, and the team says "initial ideas for this are already under discussion."

[image 2][2][image 4][4]

Read more of this story[5] at Slashdot.
[image 6]

Links:
[1]: http://twitter.com/home?status=Scientists+Just+Set+a+New+World+Record+In+Solar+Cell+Efficiency%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F3qW7zJN (link)
[2]: https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png (image)
[3]: http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fhardware.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F20%2F12%2F14%2F2316213%2Fscientists-just-set-a-new-world-record-in-solar-cell-efficiency%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook (link)
[4]: https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png (image)
[5]: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/20/12/14/2316213/scientists-just-set-a-new-world-record-in-solar-cell-efficiency?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed (link)
[6]: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/MgAR6ALedYs (image)


--
Port 80 is overrated.

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On Tue, 15 Dec 2020 02:33:47 -0000 (UTC), RS Wood
<rsw@therandymon.com> wrote:

Scientists Just Set a New World Record In Solar Cell Efficiency

I've heard that for years....but I wonder if this new tech shows up in
the market place.

I don't follow this industry, but I suspect "same old way" is done
over and over...OR...new tech prices are thru the roof when buying.

Like in HVAC systems, you pay more for units that "save" you
more...even when production costs are peanuts between models.

95% efficient furnace may be a better deal than a 99% one...for
example....in most insulated homes.

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On 12/14/20 9:29 PM, JAB wrote:

Scientists Just Set a New World Record In Solar Cell Efficiency

But this isn't solar PV's main dilemma, it's the long payback and non-dispatchable nature of something that is spuratic in output. Until
they come up with grid-scale electrical storage that is super cheap to implement, solar -- and wind -- are not going to come anywhere close to
being real solutions to transitioning away from fossil fuels. Also,
currently, both are higher dependent on the existing fossil fuel based infrastructure for their manufacture, deployment and maintenance.

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In <rraqhn$eif$1@gioia.aioe.org> jeff <jo@no.go> writes:

But this isn't solar PV's main dilemma, it's the long payback and >non-dispatchable nature of something that is spuratic in output. Until
they come up with grid-scale electrical storage that is super cheap to >implement,

Already there.

--
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

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On Tue, 15 Dec 2020 10:08:08 -0700, jeff <jo@no.go> wrote:

grid-scale electrical storage

http://css.umich.edu/factsheets/us-grid-energy-storage-factsheet

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On 12/15/20 11:43 AM, JAB wrote:

On Tue, 15 Dec 2020 10:08:08 -0700, jeff <jo@no.go> wrote:

grid-scale electrical storage

http://css.umich.edu/factsheets/us-grid-energy-storage-factsheet

You can see that pumped hydro is like 94% of all storage; everything
else is really nothing.

Expanding pumped hydro is not easy; there are only some many places that
lend themselves to building an impoundments affordably and invariably
people living nearby won't be happy about the change in scenery.
And of course we're only talking about electricity, not the ~80% of
energy use that is not electrified and is resistant to being
electrified, mostly relating to transportation and heavy industry.

It really makes much more sense to be planning on cutting our energy
usage by 80%+ and treating fossil fuels as the precious resource they
are, using them sparingly with an eye towards elimination. We can start
by transitioning away from private vehicles for one; it doesn't matter
if it has an ICE or EV motor, it's nowhere near a sustainable system of
moving people around.

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On Tue, 15 Dec 2020 18:33:17 +0000 (UTC), danny burstein <@panix.com>
wrote:

[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

I don't see it like this: qnaalo@cnavk.pbz

I see it as "dannyb...." in the header, and in the message.

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On Tue, 15 Dec 2020 12:39:29 -0700, jeff <jo@no.go> wrote:

It really makes much more sense to be planning on cutting our energy
usage by 80%+

That's what Hunter Lovins was saying back in the 1980s

https://rmi.org/

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On 12/15/20 2:39 PM, JAB wrote:

On Tue, 15 Dec 2020 12:39:29 -0700, jeff <jo@no.go> wrote:

It really makes much more sense to be planning on cutting our energy
usage by 80%+

That's what Hunter Lovins was saying back in the 1980s

https://rmi.org/

Ya the RMI has been making the case for transition for decades. I think
in recent years Lovins has become a bit of an industry shill but you can
still detect traces of the old conservation impulse in his glossy book "Reinventing Fire'.

Over in New Zealand they are a bit more grounded in what a sustainable transition might entail. Susan Krumdieck (prof. of mech. engineering,
Univ. of Cantenbury, NZ) as been talking about such things for a while;
she has been worked in various energy system fields for a few decades
and seems to know what she's talking about.

Some short videos that more or less cover the basics of what Transition Engineering is about:

Transition Engineering: The Big Do
https://youtu.be/eSPVBbIztWk

The Ultimate Challenge for Transition:
https://youtu.be/3ccV1GubXJA

She has a recent book out called 'Transition Engineering', sort of an introductory engineering text but readable by laypersons, at least the
first few chapters. Includes some real world transition plans done for Christchurch, NZ.

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On Tue, 15 Dec 2020 15:34:35 -0700, jeff <jo@no.go> wrote:

Lovins

Superficially, I'm aware of Amory Lovins, and around late 1980s or so,
he did have one idea worth mentioning. In short, utility companies
could reduce usage via insulating homes/businesses (etc means) out of
their pocket rather than building new power plants.

Gas/Electric utilities could know where homes/buildings are consuming
excess energy, especially if a square-footage-property database was
intersected with utility usage.

Of course, reducing consumers' consumption reduces these companies
bottom line...there's the rub. His focus then was in regards to
wasted resources for a new power plant vs spending dollars for
reducing consumers' loads.

Lovins has become a bit of an industry shill

In the mid 1990s, I conversed with Amory on reducing automobile fuel consumption via controlling rate of acceleration...not HP, but
acceleration rate. Electronic fuel injection then was advanced enough
to enable this "feature," which is available for some newer vehicles
today, if a consumer switches to energy saving mode, instead of a
higher performance mode. Of course, automotive industry would have
gone ballistic on such a requirement. But it seemed Amory didn't
grasp the relevancy of this idea, or perhaps, he assumed it was DOA.

In previous years, I've heard a different idea being floated via
controlling traffic speeds with embedded electronics in vehicles.

Hence, behavioral changes, along with government
laws/rules/incentives, are needed to 'motivate' the herd in greener
pastures. But, it must be a longitudinal policy. US was headed in an
energy savings mode in 1970s/1980s, but I suspect this failed mainly
to business interests opposing this change. Gas, oil, and electric
industries support economically politicians' campaigns.

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