Could This Be The Future Of Solar Energy?
Is the future of solar energy a small start-up company called Sunrgi? Sunrgi claims to have developed a way to make solar energy as cheap as coal using panels that focus the sun onto photovoltaic cells equipped with innovative cooling systems.
The company claims its magnifying glasses intensify the sun's rays 2000 times onto photovoltaic cells, which increases the heat to 3300 degrees Fahrenheit. While these temperatures would melt silicon immediately, Sunrgi says its electronics actually stay just about six degrees above ambient temperature thanks to the design of their heat convection and spacing of the electronics. "Solar power at 5 cents per kWh would be a world-changing breakthrough. It would make solar generation of electricity as affordable as generation from coal, natural gas or other non-renewable sources, without requiring any subsidy." The company has also designed its electronics so that it can be built on any assembly line in the world, making it inexpensive to reproduce. Having done their calculations, Sunrgi claim that the projected cost over a 20 year period of the lifespan of the panels would work out at 5-6 cents per kilowatt-hour. That's cheaper than power created by almost all traditional energy sources. If what they say is true and they have done their sums correctly, then this really could be the
future of solar energy.
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