In academics, 50 percent might not mean much, but when it comes to solar panel research, 50 percent efficiency is an important benchmark.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems has recently broken the previous record of 44 percent efficiency with a new solar cell structure that reaches 44.7 percent efficiency; solar efficiency calculates the ratio of surface area to energy output based on the amount of radiation from sunlight hitting a given area.
While a 0.7 percent gain seems small, 44.7 percent is still more than double the efficiency of commercial photovoltaic cells, which are usually between 15 percent and 21 percent. Compared to hydroelectric power and wind plants, which have power outputs of 90 percent and 30 percent of their theoretical outputs, solar power superficially seems like a less effective candidate for a clean replacement for fossil fuels, especially given the expensive nature of solar panel installation.
Despite these apparent flaws, solar panels have an advantage of portability and versatility. While installation of a hydropower plant is impossible for all but the most truly affluent of homebuilders, and wind power requires vast tracts of land, solar panels are relatively easy to install in most households or urban structures, or installed exclusively in some of the sunniest areas of the world as private plants, as demonstrated by a four gigawatt solar plant being created in India.
Likewise, many of the largest homebuilders, such as KB Home, include solar cells during construction.
Continued advancement in solar technology will not only make more efficient panels, but also reduce costs, allowing everyone to do their part in making a brighter tomorrow powered by sunlight.
