Somenath Mitra works on flexible solar cell technology

Flexible solar panels may be one of the most exciting developments in solar technology.  Now, paint on solar cells could take that idea to the next level.  Imagine being able to literally coat a building or rooftop with solar sheets that can take energy from the sun and convert it to clean, free electricity!

Somenath Mitra, a professor of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, is working on developing a solar cell derived from polymers that could be used to power just about all aspects of our lives.  Mr. Mitra holds give patents and is widely published in the field of chemistry.  His pioneering solar cell research holds great promise.

For a brief explanation of the carbon nanotube solar technology, this video is helpful:

Instead of constructing typical solar cells of silicon, polymers dissolved in a solvent creates a “paint” or coating that can be applied to any surface – from homes to offices to cars!  It’s inexpensive and versatile.  Dr. Mitra explains:

When sunlight falls on an organic solar cell, the energy generates positive and negative charges. If the charges can be separated and sent to different electrodes, then a current flows. If not, the energy is wasted. But if you link cells electronically and form what is called a panel, like the ones currently seen on most rooftops, then you’ve got something.  The size of both the cell and panels vary. Cells can range from 1 millimeter to several feet; panels have no size limits.

This breakthrough technology could result in a paradigm shift in how we perceive and use solar power.  Imagine use of tiny solar cells with a carbon nanotube complex, 50,000 times smaller than a human hair.  Now, add the fact that conduction is thousands of times more effective than along any electric wire.

Researchers believe that, eventually these solar cells will be so inexpensive and ubiquitous that people will literally print out sheets of solar cells on home-based inkjet printers using the solar paint “ink.”  The produce can then be applied to any outdoor surface for an affordable way to tap into free solar energy.

I am eagerly awaiting that day.  It will happen within the next decade!

Flexible solar panels provide clean power for on-the-go people

Roll-up solar panels may one day be the solar gadget that you cannot live without.  These flexible solar panels are created with thin films of solar foil, which absorb sunlight energy from three different wavelengths.

Unlike rigid PV solar panels, these are less costly, more portable, and very easy to use.  And, they’ll allow you to charge up your devices without the use of CO2 producing electricity.

Also known as roll-up solar chargers, thin film solar technology, described above, is used to create flexible panels that can simply be rolled out into the sun and used to recharge phones, cameras, computers, iPods – you name it!

Several manufacturers are marketing roll-up solar panels.  For example, Brunton makes “SolarRolls,” in two sizes: a 12″ x 22″ panel, which weighs 6.4 ounces and can output 4.5 watts, 15.4 Volts/300mA.  At $169, it may be worth stashing in your backpack for your next camping trip.  You’ll never be without your cell phone “juice” again.

For gadgets that need more power (laptops or camcorders), you may want the 12″x57″ solar panel which outputs 14 watts and 15.4 volts/900 mA and costs $399.  The roll-up panels can even be strung together for more output.

I’d even go so far as to say that you may want one of these roll-up solar chargers in your trunk as part of your emergency kit.

Roll-up solar panels are also ideal for servicemen and servicewomen

Xunlight Corporation is another source for roll-up solar panels.  Their website describes the manufacturing of flexible solar panels on stainless steel plates that are 3 feet wide and up to a mile long!

The 25MW solar cell manufacturing equipment, a 200-feet long series of connected vacuum deposition chambers, uses a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process to deposit thin-film silicon solar cells on a 3ft wide, one-mile-long thin stainless steel substrate at a speed of 720-square feet per hour. This manufacturing process is inherently lower-cost and more productive than competing technologies, and is designed, developed and constructed by Xunlight Corporation

Smaller, more portable sizes are available, if you don’t need a mile’s worth of solar panel….

Other companies have also announced plans to manufacture roll-up solar panels for a wide variety of uses, and at varying prices.  Smaller solar chargers (to be available from Konarka Technologies) may cost as little as $75.

Many experts and other commentators have enthused about roll-up solar panels, noting that their inexpensive cost allows a broad application and use of free solar energy.  Those in the construction industry and military – as well as ordinary people who simply enjoy being outdoors – should be able to extend the use of radios, flashlights, cameras and phones with a simple flick of the wrist, and unrolling of these lightweight, flexible panels.