Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Flexible Glass Could Make Tablets Lighter and Solar Power Cheaper
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/516471/flexible-glass-could-make-tablets-lighter-and-solar-power-cheaper/[font face=Serif][font size=5]Flexible Glass Could Make Tablets Lighter and Solar Power Cheaper[/font]
[font size=4]NREL shows that Corning’s Willow glass can be used to make flexible solar cells that could be installed in place of roofing shingles.[/font]
By Kevin Bullis on July 3, 2013
[font size=3]Researchers at the U.S. government’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have built flexible solar cells using a thin and pliable kind of glass from Corning, the company that makes the glass that covers iPhone screens. The new solar cells could make rooftop solar power far cheaper.
Based on tests by Corning, which makes a product called Gorilla glass for iPhone screens and which announced the flexible material, called Willow glass, last year, shingles made from such solar cells could last for decades on a roof—even weathering hail greater than three centimeters in diameter. Conventional solar panels are heavy, bulky, and breakable, which makes them expensive to transport and install.
The new solar shingles could be nailed to a roof in place of conventional shingles. Rather than paying a roofer to put asphalt shingles on a new home, and then paying solar installers to climb back up and mount solar panels to the roof, the roofers could install solar shingles instead of asphalt ones. The only added labor cost would be hiring an electrician to plug the array of shingles into an inverter and connect it to the grid. Thin, flexible solar shingles could also be shipped more cheaply.
The cost of installation is one of the largest parts of the overall cost of solar power—its share has increased even as the cost of the cells themselves has plummeted in recent years. Indeed, installation and other auxiliary costs are now the biggest opportunity for reducing the cost of solar power. An average rooftop solar system in California costs $6.14 per watt, while solar panels themselves sell for less than $1 a watt in many cases.
…[/font][/font]
[font size=4]NREL shows that Corning’s Willow glass can be used to make flexible solar cells that could be installed in place of roofing shingles.[/font]
By Kevin Bullis on July 3, 2013
[font size=3]Researchers at the U.S. government’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have built flexible solar cells using a thin and pliable kind of glass from Corning, the company that makes the glass that covers iPhone screens. The new solar cells could make rooftop solar power far cheaper.
Based on tests by Corning, which makes a product called Gorilla glass for iPhone screens and which announced the flexible material, called Willow glass, last year, shingles made from such solar cells could last for decades on a roof—even weathering hail greater than three centimeters in diameter. Conventional solar panels are heavy, bulky, and breakable, which makes them expensive to transport and install.
The new solar shingles could be nailed to a roof in place of conventional shingles. Rather than paying a roofer to put asphalt shingles on a new home, and then paying solar installers to climb back up and mount solar panels to the roof, the roofers could install solar shingles instead of asphalt ones. The only added labor cost would be hiring an electrician to plug the array of shingles into an inverter and connect it to the grid. Thin, flexible solar shingles could also be shipped more cheaply.
The cost of installation is one of the largest parts of the overall cost of solar power—its share has increased even as the cost of the cells themselves has plummeted in recent years. Indeed, installation and other auxiliary costs are now the biggest opportunity for reducing the cost of solar power. An average rooftop solar system in California costs $6.14 per watt, while solar panels themselves sell for less than $1 a watt in many cases.
…[/font][/font]
