Renewable energy is the power of the future and solar power technology just had a huge development that could see concentrated solar power (CSP) become much more efficient. While traditional photovoltaic solar panels turn sunlight directly into electricity, concentrated solar power first turns sunlight to heat and then to energy â€" and the key to both processes is the efficiency of the panels when converting sun rays to electricity. A team of researchers at UC San Diego (UCSD) recently came up with a nanoparticle material that may let CSP plants absorb and convert more than 90 percent of captured sunlight â€" a significant boost that’s being hailed as a breakthrough for solar power.
Current CSP plants are made up of mirrors that focus sunlight on a tower painted with a black material that maximizes sunlight capture, but degrades quickly and requires maintenance every year. Through the US Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative, UCSD researchers have developed a new light-absorbing material that’s made up of special particles ranging in size from 10 nanometers to 10 micrometers. The new material can be spray painted onto surfaces, forming a ‘multiscale’ surface that can withstand temperatures up to 1,292 degrees F and can last for years, even when exposed to air and humidity. Perhaps most importantly, this new material can absorb about 90 to 95 percent of light with very little heat loss.
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CSP plants currently produce about 3.5 gigawatts of electricity worldwide, but according to researchers that number could go up to as much as 20 GW in the not too distant future, thanks to this new technology. The new material will also help cut costs and maintenance on CSPs, making it a truly revolutionary new material for solar energy gathering.
Via Jetson Green, Gizmag
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