At this point, many of us are familiar with the more unique solar products such as the solar shingles (or known as the solar roof by Tesla), a solar powered flashlight, or even solar powered backpack to help keep your electronics charged. But have you heard of solar tracking cells, a floating solar farm, or printable solar cells? As this technology develops (and yet still becomes cheaper), we are not only seeing improvements in the product line we currently have, but we are also seeing brand new inventions.
We have spoken on the solar farm multiple times before and finding unique places to install them such as over landfills. One of the newest ideas on this list is over water. According to the article, Latest Solar Panel Technology 2023-2024, by Rayzonsolar, “These innovative solar farms aid in water management, curbing evaporation and algae growth.” It would be interesting to see a study done on the impact it has on the wildlife in the water to see if there are any negative effects due to less sunlight hitting the water directly.
One of the most important new ideas in development will be the solar tracking cell. As solar has developed the last few decades, the efficiency of panels has skyrocketed. The purpose of these cells is to track the sun throughout the day which can lead to an increase of 50% in the energy captured.
Now this brings us to printing out your own solar cell… Is this really possible? As stated by Rayzonsolar, “In February 2017, researchers at Michigan Technological University revealed a breakthrough in solar panel technology — printable solar cells that can be directly applied to thin plastic sheets.” Studies and production out of MIT are also moving quickly on these printable solar cells as they can be extremely useful for areas where standard solar panels may not be an option.
Learn more here.
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