The bottom is over: After the setbacks and tough progress, solar power is now back on its way up again, according to the title topic “Solar wins” in the April issue of Bild der Wissenschaft. Accordingly, falling costs, new technologies, materials and possible applications are stimulating the use of sunlight as an energy source.
As is well known, greenhouse gases from fossil fuels, air pollutants and nuclear disasters have caused major problems – the world needs sustainable energy supply systems! Mankind largely agrees on this. The use of solar energy is an important option. But for a long time it was not very profitable compared to conventional energy generation. State subsidies only helped it to a short-term boom in Germany, which has subsided significantly in the last decade. But now there are signs of growth again: in 2020 solar energy already contributed around ten percent to the energy supply – a significant plus compared to previous years.
As the bdw technology expert Ralf Butscher makes clear in the lead article “Sunny Times” of the four-part title topic, it is obviously actually a positive turnaround. One reason is therefore that the cost of photovoltaics is becoming an ever smaller obstacle to development. This benefits the desire of many homeowners, farmers and traders to be as independent as possible from the large electricity providers and to ensure clean electricity generation. This not only applies in Germany, but also in other parts of the world. As Butscher reports, new materials and technical tricks now lead to higher levels of efficiency and broader application possibilities. Nevertheless, experts warn: In order to achieve the climate targets, the expansion of solar energy must continue to be promoted in a targeted manner.
Promising developments
In the second article, the bdw author Frank Frick focuses on the developments in photovoltaic technology with perovskite materials. Since their development about ten years ago, researchers have increased the efficiency of these systems by more than 20 percentage points. The perovskite solar cells are evidently particularly suitable as partners in a tandem with cells made of silicon. Photovoltaics with perovskite materials is now more and more on the way from the laboratory to everyday life, writes the author: It can be used, for example, on house roofs, in motion detectors, irrigation systems and smart home applications.
Then Frick takes a look at the developments in driving vehicles with solar modules. According to him, the worldwide boom in electric cars has given the development of these technologies new momentum. What is already possible can be seen, among other things, in the international “World Solar Challenge” competition, in which vehicles whiz through Australia powered solely by solar power.
The cover story is rounded off by a look at the potential and applicability of solar modules in architecture. In the article “Haus unter Strom”, the bdw author Hartmut Netz reports how solar cells on house facades could one day generate all the electricity required on a daily basis. In addition, the new technologies also enable an attractive architectural design. For example, solar cells could even be attached to curved facade surfaces in the future.
The cover topic “Solar wins” can be found in the April issue of bild der Wissenschaft, which will be available in stores from March 16.