A long wait

Solar has seen some major discussions in expert circles. Is it worth going for solar power production, or better to stick to solar thermal applications? Cost of PV panels, vast land requirement and the poor conversion ratio of sunlight into power are cited as some reasons to avoid the power path.

Others cite the low gestation period and zero maintenance as reasons to opt for solar power. The technology is advancing in leaps, they say.

For instance, one team of materials scientists is developing microcells that could be rubber-stamped by the millions onto a yard of fabric. When such cells shrink in size — but not efficiency —it becomes hard to imagine what they couldn’t electrify. Foldable and moldable modules crammed full of photovoltaic cells could directly power devices or recharge batteries.

At Sandia Labs in the US, 20 micrometer thick cells have been developed that are less than 10 percent as chunky as the ones used in conventional photovoltaic devices. By studding minute refractive lenses into glass or plastic plates, each lens concentrates sunlight onto a solar cell, nearly as small as a pinpoint, that sits directly below.

Silicon is needed only at the focal point of each lens, further diminishing the required quantity to about 1 percent of what’s needed per unit of light-collecting area with commercial photovoltaics. But making modules out of individual cells are just beginning. SO it will take time.

Time, that's the catch-word! What do you think, is it worth pursuing solar power and granting huge subsidies? Or focus on a mix with solar thermal, biogas and wind in tandem with conventional power?