The description of the coating makes it almost sound like a black hole.
If it can be made cheap enough, then it looks like dang near everything is going to be solar powered. (This will also be a big boon to NASA, since they’ll be able to use smaller solar panels, and be able to use them farther out in the solar system.)
Curb your enthusiasm… Absorbing light was never the problem. Black paint will do that, and current panels are already pretty black. The problem is making sure it’s absorbed in such a way as to produce electricity, instead of just heat.
Now, it’s quite plausible that this new coating will improve the efficiency of solar panels, but I wouldn’t bet on it being by all that much.
Sure, sunlight can solve our energy problems for the next 5 billion years or so. But what then?
Yeah. I hate to say it, but the problem isn’t just absorbing light. Given that the current efficiency is something around 10% or less of photons absorbed into useful electricity (I’m sort of pulling that number out of my ass, but I’m pretty sure it’s in the ballpark – I can dig for some cites if asked), that’s the major limitation on solar panel efficiency.
All commercial panels are greater than that, some are over 20%.
However, efficiency is not the big issue - there’s plenty of sunlight. The limiting factor is $/Watt. In other words, a 5% efficient panel that only cost 25¢/Watt would probably do more to increase PV’s market penetration than a 50% efficient panel at $3/Watt.
Okay…looks like I was off by a factor of two at least. (Thanks for the link, Tuckerfan.) Still, that’s a relatively abysmal efficiency, from my perspective.
According to Una, the average efficiency for a coal powered electric plant is only around the low-30s or so. Not that big of a jump in terms of efficiency to go from about 20-22% to the low-30s. Some solar thermal plants have already hit that point.
Let me guess… you recently read the Asmiov story that was posted here.