Transparent solar cells could turn entire skyscrapers into renewable energy power stations.
A team of international researchers has developed a new record-breaking transparent solar cell with an efficiency of 12.3 percent - close to that of commercial solar cells - that combines perovskite and organic layers and has a transparency of around 30 percent.
The team comprises nine partners from seven countries, with the research funded by the EU-backed CitySolar project. According to the researchers, the new solar cell allows it to capture different parts of the light spectrum, reports Interesting Engineering. “The tandem solar cell mainly harvests energy from the infrared and ultraviolet parts of the sun’s rays, but not from visible light,” explained Professor Morten Madsen from the University of Southern Denmark and a leading researcher of the project. “This allows us to set new efficiency standards for semi-transparent solar windows,” he added.
“Transparent solar cells could be the next big step in building integrated energy solutions,” said the professor. “The large glass facades found in modern office buildings can now be used for energy production without requiring additional space or special structural changes... This represents a massive market opportunity.”
The two materials are also highly affordable, according to Professor Madsen, making it a suitable technology for commercial-scale deployment, reports The Independent. Indeed, transparent solar panels could fully decarbonise the building sector.
These solar cells could prove revolutionary for solar power generation in cities where facades of tall skyscrapers offer large amounts of surface area. In the United States alone, there are estimated to be 5 to 7 billion square meters of glass surfaces, especially on its many high-rise buildings. If all this area were to be covered with transparent electricity-generating glass, it could help generate vast quantities of power without the need for more huge ground-based solar PV arrays.