Study Questions Solar’s Potential – as Kiwis Develop Solar Energy Dye

If solar power is going to play a significant role in the energy equation of the future, there must be advances in technologies to store that power and more investment by manufacturers, concludes a new federally funded study by University of Massachusetts Amherst scientist Erin Baker. But in New Zealand researchers have developed new solar energy-collecting dyes that promise to make solar energy much easier and less expensive to collect.
The UMASS researchers’ report “explores the viability of sun-fueled technologies through a combination of evaluations by experts and economic modeling, allowing the researchers to look at solar power’s role in the electricity sector in 15-year chunks through 2095,” says the UMASS-Amherst news release.

Researchers at the Nanomaterials Research Centre at New Zealand’s Massey University have developed synthetic dyes hat can be used to generate electricity at one tenth of the cost of current silicon-based solar panels. The dyes work similar to natural photosynthesis – and even work in low-light conditions. Researchers say they soon will be able to be cheaply incorporated into common products, turning those products into generators of electricity. Think: roofing materials and window panes. Or clothing.

Dr Campbell says the green solar cells are more environmentally friendly than silicon-based cells as they are made from titanium dioxide – a plentiful, renewable and non-toxic white mineral obtained from New Zealand’s black sand. Titanium dioxide is already used in consumer products such as toothpaste, white paints and cosmetics.

”The refining of pure silicon, although a very abundant mineral, is energy-hungry and very expensive. And whereas silicon cells need direct sunlight to operate efficiently, these cells will work efficiently in low diffuse light conditions,” Dr Campbell says.

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