Written by Gabriella Warner
University of Newcastle announces a promising development to the future of solar power.
Solar panels have been produced by commercial printers, offering businesses an inexpensive alternative.
Paul Dastoor, head of the research team said, ‘Twenty years ago we had panels one to two millimetres across, now we’re looking to sell commercially in six months.
‘It’s a revolutionary time for the planet, for technology, for solar.’
Commercial printers spray organic photovoltaic solar cells onto recyclable flexible plastic sheets or film.
They can withstand poor weather conditions regardless of only being attached with sticky tape.
A prototype at Newcastle’s CHEP warehouse has been running for two months.
Lachlan Feggans from CHEP said, ‘It’s iterative and inherently positive because we’re innovating, we’re not expecting this to start delivering significant amounts of energy.’
The panels are best suited for commercial use as they are cheaper but less efficient than current technology.
They are only two per cent efficient compared to the standard eighteen per cent.
‘It’s about finding the suitability of this technology in comparison to a conventional panel.
Paul needed a roof and we’ve got plenty of those,’ said Feggans.
Newcastle Council is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by installing solar power.
By 2019 a solar farm at Summerhill will offset sixty per cent of council electricity use.
The Council have shown growing interest in the prospects of Dastoor’s technology after winning the Climate Council’s Cities Power Partnership Award for Energy Efficiency on 18 October.
Adam Clarke from Newcastle Council’s Community Planning Committee said, ‘We would definitely be interested about it, I think we would definitely need to know what point it becomes comparative to existing technologies.’
Dastoor is shining light onto the future of solar energy.
‘I want to envisage a future where everything is solar compatible, not just roofs but walls and cars and roads.’
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