The dye-sensitive solar cells provide an attractive new alternative for pushing the renewable-energy economy forward, at 1/4 the cost...

PINK SOLAR CELLS CAN PRODUCE POWER AT 25% OF CURRENT COST
DYE-SENSITIVE SOLAR CELLS, DEVELOPED AT OHIO STATE UNIV., COULD BE FUTURE OF GREEN POWER
3 August 2007

As environmental groups, lobbyists and the general public push for more environmentally friendly industrial practices, scientists are finding innovative ways to bring down costs and increase the efficiency of renewable resources. The dye-sensitive solar cells (DSSC), with a pinkish sheen, now being developed at Ohio State University, are an example of the type of engineering innovation that could bring about a genuine green-power revolution.

One of the major complaints of the existing fuel-production and distribution industry, which has until now heavily favored combustible fuels, has been that solar-voltaic power is too costly to produce at an economical price. The dye-sensitive system means that complaint may now be irrelevant, and a thing of the past. We could be seeing the dawn of a new age in renewable energy.

Traditional silicon-based solar cells are blue in color due to an anti-reflective coating designed to enhance absorption of green light, the strongest wavelength in the solar spectrum. But DSSC panels are able to adjust their color to adjust absorption of solar light; adjusting to the pinkish-red hue created by the red ruthenium dye seems to produce the best results in experiments with a new kind of DSSC.

As reported at PhysOrg.com, "In DSSCs, dye molecules coat tiny metal oxide particles that are packed together into a thin film. The dye molecules capture light energy and release electrons, and the particles act like electrical wires to carry the electrons away to an electrical circuit. [...] But electrons can get lost when traveling between particles. That's why Wu is working on designs that incorporate tiny nano-wires that carry electrons directly to a circuit."

The new materials applied by Professor Wu and his associates are more complex, and therefor appear to produce electricity more efficiently. For instance, zinc stannate, which is the basic ingredient in the new DSSC panels, allows for "tuning" of the properties by which it collects and conducts energy from solar radiation. That tuning means the panels can be adapted to increase efficiency under distinct circumstances.

Nano-wires that permit the enhanced conductivity of the materials within the DSSC panel may be more efficient still if shaped in a manner appropriate to the task. Professor Wu has said "We asked ourselves, what structure is best for gathering light and also transporting materials — a tree! The leaves provide a high surface area for capturing light, and the branches transport the nutrients to the roots".

Wu adds that "In our DSSC design, the dye-coated particles would provide the surface area, and the nano-trees would branch out in between them, to transport the electrons." This allows for an increase in the overall efficiency of the new DSSCs. When they reach double the best-to-date efficiency in testing, they will equal silicon solar cells in output, and will effectively become the new technology.

Possible applications for the new solar cells range from more efficient solar farms, increased availability of solar-based self-sufficient household generation, the development of affordable, efficient solar-powered electric cars, and cladding for the exterior of large office buildings.

The technology could also be used, some believe, to reduce or eliminate the carbon "footprint" of other renewable resources, such as aeolic or wind-turbine generation. Wind turbines require a lengthy industrial production process, which tends to rely at present on traditional fossil-fuel-powered production methods.

If the carbon cost of new power resources can be affordably reduced or eliminated, the ability to produce these alternatives to fossil fuels would progress rapidly. Such supplemental cost-reduction and pollutant-removal would also mean the DSSC panels would be a viable "mainstream" option for transitioning from a petroleum-based economy to a renewable-resource-based economy.

Industrial production of the panels also demonstrates how new directions in technology mean the economy continues to adapt and expand as it assimilates new ideas, new skills, and new job opportunities for potentially millions of people. One plant is already being built in England to begin mass production of the characteristically pink DSSC panels. [s]

• Engadget: "Pink solar cells provide green power on the cheap"
• PhysOrg.com: "Researchers think pink to produce 'green' solar energy"
• Azobuild: "Fancy Pink Solar Cells for your House?"
• Nanotech & Commodities: "Titanium-dioxide Dye-sensitive Solar Cells"
• Nanowerk: "Using nanotechnology to develop a better solar cell"

GEOTHERMAL: WEST DIGS DEEP FOR THE NEXT BIG THING IN POWER
HARNESSING GEOTHERMAL ENERGY COULD PROVIDE SUBSTANTIAL SUSTAINABLE FUEL SOURCE FOR GREEN ECONOMY
19 February 2007 :: Lainey Johr

Geothermal energy is increasingly being touted by scientists and researchers as one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly sources of power available.  Currently, geothermal sources supply enough energy, 2,800 megawatts, to run 2.8 million American homes. 

The potential of geothermal energy in the US is even greater than once believed, at an estimated 13,000 megawatts over the next 10 years; but only the western states of Utah, Nevada and California have active geothermal power stations.

BACKGROUND:

WIND ENERGY DEMAND BOOMING COST DROPPING BELOW CONVENTIONAL SOURCES MARKS KEY MILESTONE IN U.S. SHIFT TO RENEWABLE ENERGY 22 March 2006 :: Lester R. Brown When Austin Energy, the publicly owned utility in Austin, Texas, launched its GreenChoice program in 2000, customers opting for green electricity paid a premium. During the fall of 2005, climbing natural gas prices pulled conventional electricity costs above those of wind-generated electricity, the source of most green power. This crossing of the cost lines in Austin and several other communities is a milestone in the U.S. shift to a renewable energy economy. [Full Story] GREEN LIGHT FOR RENEWABLE FUELS NEW TECHNOLOGY MAKES SOLAR END-USER FRIENDLY 15 December 2005 Renewable fuels have enjoyed a lot of attention in recent months, in a market driven by escalating oil costs, strained fuel stocks, worsening environmental degradation, and promises by the G8 to reduce carbon emissions. Revelations about the vulnerabilities inherent in the fossil fuel infrastructure, together with new technological advances in wind- and solar-based power generation mean renewables are now directly competitive with traditional fuel sources. [Full Story] WIND POWER SET TO BECOME WORLD'S LEADING ENERGY SOURCE Lester R. Brown :: 25 June 2003 In 1991, a national wind resource inventory taken by the U.S. Department of Energy startled the world when it reported that the three most wind-rich states —North Dakota, Kansas, and Texas— had enough harnessable wind energy to satisfy national electricity needs. Now a new study by a team of engineers at Stanford reports that the wind energy potential is actually substantially greater than that estimated in 1991. [Full Story]

ESTALLA LA DEMANDA POR LA ENERGÍA EÓLICA PRECIOS MÁS BAJOS QUE POR FUENTES TRADICIONALES AYUDAN A ADOPTAR LA ENERGÍA RENOVABLE 22 marzo 2006 :: Lester R. Brown Cuando Austin Energy, agencia pública de la ciudad de Austin, Texas, lanzó su campaña GreenChoice en el año 2000, el cliente que quería adoptar fuentes energéticas "verdes" tenía que pagar más. Durante el otoño, la persistente subida de los precios por el gas natural hizo que superaran los precios de la energía eólica, un momento clave para el proceso de mudar economía energética del país hacia las fuentes renovables. [Texto completo] WHY WIND IS SMARTER 21 November 2005 Wind energy offers something no carbon-based fuel can offer: zero emissions, zero cleanup, local control and reasonable local supply everywhere on Earth, and it is 100% non-climate disruptive and essentially infinitely renewable. In fact, the overall global wind resource far exceeds our capacity even to harness or to use it. As of 2003, Pentagon-commissioned research had found that just 3 wind-rich midwestern states possess sufficient wind resources to power the entire US economy with existing wind-turbine technology. [Full Story] LA ENERGÍA EÓLICA SERÁ EL PRIMER RECURSO ENÉRGICO MUNDIAL Lester R. Brown :: 25 junio 2003 En 1991, un estudio del Departamento de Energía de Estados Unidos para medir los recursos eólicos nacionales sorprendió al mundo cuando demostró que los tres estados más ricos en viento —North Dakota, Kansas y Texas— poseían un recurso bastante como para satisfacer la demanda nacional para electricidad. Ahora un estudio nuevo, hecho por un equipo de ingenieros de Stanford, reporta que la energía eólica potencial supera por mucho los cálculos de 1991. [Texto completo]