solar power - CybAI news

07 Oct

What happens when solar panels die?

stp2y0 CommentsNewsfeature, Recycling, Renewables, solar, solar power, tomorrow

By the end of 2024, the world will have nearly 2,000 Gigawatts of solar generation capacity in service. Each panel is made of silicon, glass, various polymers, aluminum, copper and an assortment of other metals that capture the sun’s energy. It’s a rule of thumb that, barring damage, a panel will last for up to 30 years before it needs to be replaced. But what happens to all of those raw materials when the current crop of solar panels becomes obsolete? Surely, we’re not just wasting it all, are we?What kills a solar panel?Received wisdom suggests solar panels last for…

Self-storage rooftops will become a nationwide 100MW+ solar farm

stp2y0 CommentsNewselectricity, energy, environment, national storage affiliates trust, news, solar, solar landscape, solar panel, solar power, tomorrow

reports that a solar energy company is renting 8.5 million square feet of roof space from the buildings for its newest solar panel project.The commercial and community solar developer Solar Landscape’s new rooftop solar panel grid on the NSA’s 1,052 self-storage facilities and properties across 42 states and Puerto Rico are expected to produce at least 100 megawatts of solar capacity. The NSA, headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado, is one of the nation’s largest self-storage operators with brands like iStorage, Move It, Northwest and SecurCare.These solar energy panels won’t just generate power for the NSA’s facilities. The panels will also…

Oxford scientists’ new light-absorbing material can turn everyday objects into solar panels

stp2y0 CommentsNewsbreakthrough, energy, energy efficiency, invention, news, Oxford University, science, solar, solar energy, solar panel, solar power, tomorrow

Oxford University scientists may have solved one of the greatest hindrances of expanding access to solar energy. Scientists from the university’s physics department have created an ultra-thin layer of material that can be applied to the exterior of objects with sunlight access in place of bulky silicon-based solar panels.The ultra-thin and flexible film is made by stacking layers of light-absorbing layers of perovskite that are just over one micron thick. The new materials are also 150 times thinner than a traditional silicon wafer and can produce 5 percent more energy efficiency than traditional, single-layer silicon photovoltaics, according to a statement…