Nanosolar's Breakthrough - Solar Now Cheaper than Coal

Nanosolar's Breakthrough - Solar Now Cheaper than Coal

www.celsias.com

Their mission: to deliver cost-efficient solar electricity. The Nanosolar company was founded in 2002 and is working to build the world’s largest solar cell factory in California and the world’s largest panel-assembly factory in Germany. They have successfully created a solar coating that is the most cost-efficient solar energy source ever. Their PowerSheet cells contrast the current solar technology systems by reducing the cost of production from $3 a watt to a mere 30 cents per watt. This makes, for the first time in history, solar power cheaper than burning coal.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Hopefully this is the real deal and not another false hope. If it works it will revolutionize energy production for the world and hopefully put coal power plants mostly out of business in 20 years.

www.celsias.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 23-11-2007 by BlueRidge]

[edit on 23-11-2007 by BlueRidge]
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[edit on 23-11-2007 by BlueRidge]

UBER


Folks, this can change the world.

we'll see. but for now it's another claim. i'll get one.

Originally posted by BlueRidge
Hopefully this is the real deal and not anther false hope. If it works it will revolutionize energy production for the world and hopefully put coal power plants mostly out of business in 20 years.

Great find blue.
I hope this is the real deal also. From what I read in the article this has over come several technology hurdles. The cost of manufacturing being one. They claim the pay back is in less then one month. The current solar panels have a life span of about ten years. This new ones claim twenty five year warranty. yes this just might change the world. I even see the possibility of a solar car now.

reply to post by RedGolem


The company appears to be legit and was featured in popular science magazine. The company is also financed by google......so there may yet be hope!POP SCI ARTICLE

reply to post by BlueRidge


Financed by google wow. So there is definitely no danger of running out of money. This could make the founders of google even richer.

this also kind of makes me think about the dimming sun.
link

originally RedGolem
I hope this is the real deal also. From what I read in the article this has over come several technology hurdles.

Yes, they are confronting the biggest hurdle of them all: Big Oil!

IF this tech is sound they'll be bought out of business in an instance and we won't hear further about this for the next 20 years.

reply to post by khunmoon


The author also posted that this company is being financed by Google. Google is also very rich. So big oil will be facing down with some one with capital some where in the ball park of there own.
So then it comes down to who is more determined.

reply to post by RedGolem


Yah, I see now!
Whauw.. Google against Big Oil.

The clash of the worlds.

You would be correct for the most part concerning a big oil buy out, it is my hope since Google is the money bags that they will see the technology all the way through to adoption. Maybe we will see "Google Power" in the next 20 years. I know their servers burn through a lot of power, maybe they see this as a way to defer some of the power cost in the future and make a crap load of money!

Let's see what they do to kill this off. Eventually someone is going to notice that the powers that be are interfering with US energy policy. Let's hope the people can rise up and defend free markets before the oil wars get us nuked.

Even though this technology holds tremendous promise for cheap power anywhere the sun shines.... oil and coal will be with us for at least 50+ years due the need to produce plastics and heat our homes. The entire infrastructure since the industrial revolution is based on fossil fuels and will take some time to faze out. On the bright side it will be a great day when the middle east or any other oil/gas/coal region is strategically unimportant to anyone.

Originally posted by BlueRidge
On the bright side it will be a great day when the middle east or any other oil/gas/coal region is strategically unimportant to anyone.

LOL

"On the bright side" indeed!

Good way of putting it!

When the oligarchy "fossil fuel," dying, rasps their final gasp and, like the dinosaurs, expire, a "bright and shiny" future for us all at hand will be at last!

But I fear, rapacious monsters that they are, they will not go, gentle, into that good night.



"But you can't take the sky from me..."

[edit on 24-11-2007 by goosdawg]

reply to post by goosdawg


Well put goosdog and very poetic I must say.I hope other ATSers will see the importance of this breakthrough also.

Let me know when you or anyone you know buys some. I am getting tired of these miraculous solar claims, only to find that you just can't get your hands on any of it. I feel like a carrot is being dangled in front of my face.

I was just reading about another? company who is making sheets at 10c a watt.

I really hope the US converts to this. No more money for the terrorist supporting countries.

Konarka

I think this is the company who invented this stuff though it maybe an entirely different one.

Also

MSNBC

[edit on 24-11-2007 by Xeven]

I can see this being used in conjunction with hydrogen to create an emissions free world. Since solar only works when it's sunny, using the excess generated on sunny days to create hydrogen to use on cloudy days would work great.

reply to post by lonemaverick


Why not do it simultaneously?
Reseachers Produce Hydrogen by Splitting Water with Sunlight

We have all the technology right now to live clean, green lives. But greed always trumps sensibility...

You can't view these prices as static. 30c a watt could jump to $2 a watt if demand wills it, and especially if it gets a patent (A smart company would price it at 95% of competing FFs). At the same time if that happened and the demand for coal and other FFs decreased, their prices would follow. After all, people can just burn coal and buy Carbon credits to feel better about themselves right? Coal will find its niche, so will oil, so will all other FFs. I wouldn't expect to see a world with no FF use in anybodies lifetime, unless we have another technological revolution, or hit that singularity point.