Researchers develop transparent solar panels

With solar power technology growing rapidly, engineers have now created transparent solar panels that would generate energy from the sun.

Researchers from Michigan State University (MSU), lead by Richard Lunt developed a see-through, transparent luminescent solar concentrator that would generate solar energy on any clear surface without even affecting any view.

The transparent solar panel could be used in mobile phones, building, windows and cars. Publishing their study in Nature Energy, Lunt exclaimed, “Highly transparent solar cells represent the wave of the future for new solar applications. We analyzed their potential and show that by harvesting only invisible light, these devices can provide a similar electricity-generation potential as rooftop solar while providing additional functionality to enhance the efficiency of buildings, automobiles and mobile electronics.”

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According to Science Alert, at present, United States generates 1.5% electricity through solar power. However, these new solar panels would generate almost 40% electricity but only if the paneling could be scaled up to cover 5-7 billion square meters of glass surfaces, claims Lunt and his team.

Yet, they still need to be more efficient. When conventional solar panels are 15% efficient, the transparent ones are only 5% efficient. Further work will be done to advance the capabilities of the panel, reported Futurism.

“Ultimately, this technology offers a promising route to inexpensive, widespread solar adoption on small and large surfaces that were previously inaccessible,” remarked Lunt.