Three new #SolarEnergy stories I’ve been following. All point to much less expensive solar panels on every rooftop.

Solar Roof Tiles Instead of Solar Panels

Tesla CEO, SpaceX CEO, SolarCity Chairman, and all around inspirational tech icon and pioneer, Elon Musk, has yet another trick up his sleeve, aimed at changing the way we live. This time, it’s a solar roof. And to be clear, we’re not talking about a conventional roof with a bunch of solar panels layered all over it. We’re talking about ditch the shingles, ditch the tile, the slate … whatever. The roof itself would be a solar power generator.

 

Spray-On Solar Panels from New Materials

A mineral called perovskite , and how it could replace silicon as a viable alternative to solid, structural solar panels. It’s pretty cool. Just imagine what we would be able to do if you could spray paint solar cells onto any surface. Put this on a back of a smartphone or laptop, and you get the idea.

 

Silicon Solar Panels Manufactured with 80% Reduction of Materials and Cost

Less COSTLY, more efficient

By using a 4.7µm layer of silicon rather than a traditional 200µm layer, and exfoliating directly off an ingot, Rayton Solar has seen a reduction in the raw silicon used per wafer.

“This translates to an overall 68% reduction in the cost to make a solar panel,” Yakub explains. “By using a higher quality silicon, float-zone silicon, we see a 25% boost in efficiency. Since float-zone silicon costs 10x more than solar grade CZ silicon we can only do this because we are using a 4.7µm thick layer of float zone. Other manufacturers are economically unable to use float-zone silicon.”

“We are currently 12 to 18 months away from opening our 6MW per year manufacturing facility. We would like to keep this in Los Angeles county, but we have been approached by various municipalities in the Midwest that can offer incentives to manufacturers,” Yakub says.

Yakub says Rayton Solar will keep its manufacturing in the United States, as that was one of his goals with funding the company.

“I want to stimulate the U.S. economy with high-tech manufacturing of renewable sources of energy to create a better future for society,” Yakub says. “I believe the future of the energy industry will have solar electricity generation at its core. Large companies will begin to adopt solar as a mainstream source of energy. This will happen before 2050, as the International Energy Agency has predicted that the majority of electricity will come from solar by 2050. Companies like Rayton will help speed this up.”