Plasmonic nanostructures could prove a boon to solar cell technology

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found a way to harvest energy from sunlight more efficiently, with the help of so-called plasmonic nanostructures. The new findings suggest that plasmonic components can enhance and direct optical scattering, creating a mechanism that is more efficient than the photoexcitation that drives solar cells. The development could therefore provide a real boost to solar cell efficiency and lead to faster optical communication.

http://www.gizmag.com/plasmonic-nanostructures-solar/29067/

Solar Cell Advance...perovskite cells

The Oxford team has demonstrated that perovskite cells are just as efficient if they are constructed in the same flat design, and using the same method—known as vapor deposition—as cheap thin-film silicon cells. “Having started with a complicated nanostructure, we’ve reduced it to a thin film,” Snaith says. “It’s amusing, I agree!”

http://news.sciencemag.org/physics/2013/09/flat-out-major-advance-emerging-solar-cell-technology

Rooftop Solar Panels Become Growing Threat to Firefighters

Thursday, 05 Sep 2013 02:31 PM

 http://www.newsmax.com/US/solar-panels-firefighters-danger/2013/09/05/id/524042#ixzz2e3Z47Stq 

Spray-On Solar Cells — New, Inexpensive Nanoparticles Lower Solar Cell Manufacturing Costs

Relatively inexpensive, easy-to-manufacture, nanoparticle-based solar cells can be created with materials that are abundantly common throughout the Earth’s crust, according to new work from researchers at the University of Alberta. The new nanoparticle-based solar cells — which could be mass-manufactured using simple methods, such as roll-to-roll printing or spray-coating — are possible thanks to a new type of nanoparticle designed by the researchers.

The researchers think that the new design/discovery — which according to them has been several years in the making — “is an important step forward in making solar power more accessible to parts of the world that are off the traditional electricity grid or face high power costs, such as the Canadian North.”

Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2013/09/01/spray-on-solar-cells-new-inexpensive-nanoparticles-lower-solar-cell-manufacturing-costs/#ct5yMRvLSHdcUY7g.99