Solar cell technology breaks world record for efficiency

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U.S. Department of Energy researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado have developed this new technology. Their new solar cell will convert a record 40.8 per cent of incident sunlight into electricity.

Previously, the bulk of incident solar rays were lost as waste, but now nearly 41 per cent are harnessed, improving the solar efficiency considerably.

Researchers modified the solar cell as follows: They grew the solar cell upside down on a wafer of gallium arsenide rather than thick germanium, and then removed the wafer.

This modification helped them create flexible and lightweight solar cells, which can be used for land as well as space applications.

The previous record was 40.7 per cent, which was developed by researcher John Geisz and his team and based on Mark Wanlass’ design of multi-junction solar cells with random spacing between the atoms.

The 0.1 per cent improvement may sound small, but when you have a whole array of solar cells for miles, the efficiency adds up considerably.

Previously, we have seen 0.3 per cent of the collected sun’s energy in the Sahara provide enough power for all of Europe. With improved and efficient solar cells, it can even help power other parts of the world.