Solar energy has developed as a clean, sustainable, and strong alternative to fossil fuels, ranking third among renewable energy sources after hydropower and wind. The amount of sunlight that strikes the Earth is more than 10,000 times that of the world’s total energy consumption, and technology to gather as much solar energy as possible is quickly advancing.Â
A lot of sectors are enthusiastically replacing their power intake with solar. A nationwide initiative installed 1,18,700 solar house lighting systems and 46,655 solar street lighting installations that year; approximately 14 lakh (1.4 million) solar cookers were supplied in India. India is going to be a solar country with the upcoming solar innovations.
These are the following solar panel innovations that are going to emerge.Â
Floatovoltaics
Every day, silicon panels get more affordable and effective. According to experts, solar panels offer even better efficiency and a variety of other advantages when installed on reservoirs and other water bodies.
Photovoltaic solar power systems called “floatovoltaics” are designed to float on dams, reservoirs, and other bodies of water. Massive amounts of power may be produced by floating solar farms without utilising expensive land or real estate. Compared to land-based solar panels, floating photovoltaic panels are less expensive to install. Furthermore, research has shown that the cooling impact of water increases the power production of floating solar panels by up to 10%.
Floating solar farms can help with water management in addition to producing clean solar energy. They prevent water loss due to evaporation by restricting air movement and blocking sunlight from the water’s surface. Furthermore, floating solar farms reduce the generation of harmful algae, cutting water treatment expenses. Furthermore, the water beneath the solar panels keeps them clean and reduces energy waste.
Thin films
Second-generation thin-film solar cells have a narrow design (light-absorbing layers are 350 times thinner than in typical Si-panels), are lightweight, flexible, and simple to install, making them one of the most promising PV technologies. They are typically made of four different types of materials: gallium arsenide (GA), amorphous silicon, copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS), and cadmium-telluride (CdTe) (GaAs). Due to the toxicity of cadmium, CdTe solar cells are not as promising as CIGS solar cells, which have an efficiency of up to 21% and are more cost-effective for both residential and commercial installations.
Solar fabric
Because solar radiation is available all around the world, why not generate your own energy wherever it is needed? Consider that, in addition to creating solar power in a set position, you might also do so while moving using your own clothing.
Researchers are working on solar fabrics with the goal of incorporating solar power into each thread. These solar filaments can be placed in t-shirts, winter jackets, or any other type of clothing to help you stay warm, charge your phone, and supply energy for other requirements while you’re on the go.
Researchers have sought to combine solar fabric and solar panels in numerous areas, including:
- Facades of buildings that supply both shade and power
- Awnings that illuminate streetlights and curtains that decrease grid electricity usage
Photovoltaic solar noise barriers PVNB.
Everyone has always been concerned about highway traffic noise. To address this problem, scientists have constructed approximately 3,000 kilometres of traffic noise barriers. Noise barriers were always built with the express goal of creating low-cost barriers that effectively execute noise abatement functions. However, the Department of Energy’s mission has recently evolved to combine noise reduction with sustainable power generation.
Given the extensive use of noise barriers, the potential for generating solar energy from them is estimated to be over 400 gigatonne-hours (GWh) each year. This is roughly equivalent to the annual electricity use of 37,000 dwellings.
The future is a very illuminating
Imagine you had all of this technology and you go to another city. You can get food from a solar-powered food cart, eat it while driving on a solar-powered highway, and charge your phone with solar-powered clothing. This is how the near future appears!
In fact, many additional revolutionary household solar solutions are in the works or will be available in 2022.
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